USA: Larger-Than-Expected Decline in Crude Oil Stocks
Crude oil stocks in the United States saw a larger-than-expected decline last week, according to data released on Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Commercial reserves dropped by 4.5 million barrels during the week ending September 20, surpassing the 1.4 million barrels anticipated by analysts based on a consensus from Bloomberg.
This decline stands in contrast to a slowdown in refinery operations, which operated at only 90.9% capacity during this period, down from 92.8% the previous week. The decrease occurred despite a 15% drop in exports and a slight 2% increase in imports—factors that typically contribute to an increase in stock levels rather than a decrease.
The reduction in inventories can be partly attributed to a statistical adjustment made by the EIA, which removed 3.1 million barrels from the volumes entering the U.S. market during the week. This adjustment corrects for statistical approximations from earlier periods and does not reflect recent market activity.
For the week ending September 20, U.S. production remained steady at 13.2 million barrels per day. Additionally, the EIA reported a significant week-on-week increase of 8% in the volumes of refined products delivered to the U.S. market, serving as an implicit indicator of demand.
Notably, gasoline inventories fell by 1.5 million barrels, while analysts had predicted an increase of 200,000 barrels. In response, gasoline prices rose by 4.9%, and propane and propylene, which include products intended for industrial use, surged by 119%.
