US Crude Inventories Beat Expectations

US crude oil inventories rose by 9.07 million barrels in the week ending August 7th, far exceeding expectations for a 500,000-barrel draw and following a 2.69 million-barrel increase in the previous week. The larger-than-expected build was driven partly by higher crude imports relative to exports. Despite the latest increase, commercial crude inventories excluding the SPR have declined by just over 49 million barrels over the past 17 weeks, while inventories are up 1.88 million barrels year-to-date. Another 6.1 million barrels left the SPR, bringing total reserves to 298.7 million barrels, near the generally accepted operational minimum of 250-300 million barrels. Cushing inventories increased by 1.57 million barrels after rising 2.36 million barrels in the previous week. Meanwhile, US crude production rose to 13.804 million bpd from 13.796 million bpd, up 600,000 bpd from a year earlier.

US crude oil inventories rose by 2.69 million barrels in the week ending July 31st, defying expectations for a 2 million-barrel draw. The previous week saw an increase of 3.3 million barrels. Excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), commercial crude inventories have fallen by more than 58 million barrels over the past 16 weeks and are down 7.2 million barrels year-to-date. The SPR declined by another 2.9 million barrels to 304.8 million, approaching its estimated operational minimum of 250-300 million barrels. Cushing inventories increased by 2.36 million barrels. US crude production eased to 13.796 million bpd from 13.798 million bpd the previous week but remained 482,000 bpd above year-ago levels. Gasoline inventories rose by 156,000 barrels, while distillate stocks fell by 1.2 million barrels.

US crude oil inventories unexpectedly increased by 3.3 million barrels in the week ending July 24, defying market expectations for a 2.5 million-barrel draw. The build followed a 2.6 million-barrel increase in the previous week. Despite the recent gains, commercial crude inventories excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) have declined by more than 54 million barrels over the past 15 weeks and remain about 3 million barrels lower year to date. Another 3.7 million barrels were withdrawn from the SPR during the week, reducing holdings to 307.7 million barrels, just above the widely accepted operational minimum range of 250-300 million barrels. At the Cushing, Oklahoma hub, inventories fell by 273,000 barrels after a 737,000-barrel decline the previous week. US crude production edged down to 13.80 million bpd from 13.86 million bpd. Meanwhile, gasoline inventories rose by 918,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles fell by 125,000 barrels.