By U.S. commercial crude oil stocks jumped 6.4 million barrels during the reporting week ended January 24, outpacing analysts' expectations, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed Wednesday.
Analysts polled Monday by Platts were anticipating a 2.1 million-barrel build in crude oil stocks.
The surge in stocks comes despite ramped-up run rates the week ended January 24, as units came back online after an intense period of cold weather caused many U.S. refiners - particularly in the Midwest - to shutter some units.
An influx of crude oil imports added to the larger-than-expected build in stocks.
At 357.6 million barrels the week ended January 24, crude oil stocks were at a 4.17% surplus to the EIA five-year average of 343.34 million barrels.
Refinery utilization rates rose 1.7 percentage points to 88.2% of capacity the week ended January 24, led by an increase in U.S. Midwest runs of 6.6 percentage points to 94%.
On the U.S. Atlantic Coast (USAC), refinery rates jumped 6.3 percentage points to 76.4% of capacity. That rise could be due in part to a possible return of the 180,000 barrels per day (b/d) PBF refinery in Paulsboro, New Jersey, which in previous weeks had reported storm-related production problems.
U.S. crude oil imports were up 500,000 b/d to 8.05 million b/d, led by a 504,000 b/d increase in Mexican imports.
U.S. Gulf Coast (USGC) imports of crude oil rose the most, up 488,000 b/d to 3.94 million b/d, followed by a 226,000 b/d increase in U.S. West Coast crude oil imports to 1.302 million b/d.
Likewise, crude oil stocks rose the most in the USGC, up 4.4 million barrels the week ended January 24, while Midwest stocks were up 1.5 million barrels.
Crude oil stocks at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, rose 200,000 barrels to 41.8 million barrels -- the region's fourth consecutive stocks increase.
U.S. DISTILLATE STOCKS DROP ON DEMAND SURGE
U.S. distillate stocks fell 4.6 million barrels the week ended January 24 to 116.2 million barrels as demand surged, putting inventories at around a 22% deficit to the EIA five-year average.
Analysts expected a smaller, 2.3 million-barrel draw.
The week ended January 24, distillate stocks were driven lower by a 745,000 b/d increase in implied demand* to 4.524 million b/d -- the highest demand level since February 2008. The boost puts implied demand 10.5% above the EIA five-year average.
While U.S. distillate production rose 380,000 b/d to 4.85 million b/d the week ended January 24, imports of distillate fuel rose 126,000 b/d to 317,000 b/d - the highest level since January 2011.
On the USAC, combined stocks of ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) and low-sulfur diesel dipped to a 28.5% deficit to the EIA five-year average. In the U.S. Midwest, those stocks fell to a 13.6% deficit to the five-year average.
ULSD and ultra-low sulfur heating oil (ULSHO) stocks have been tight in the New York Harbor market, but cargoes coming from Canada and Europe and a potential waiver could alleviate supply tightness in that region, according to a recent Platts report.
EIA data for the week ended January 17 showed ULSD and ULSHO production hit its lowest level since the week following Hurricane Sandy in 2012. But production rose 354,000 b/d to 4.424 million b/d the week ended January 24.
U.S. gasoline stocks fell 800,000 barrels the week ended January 24 to 234.4 million barrels, with demand rising 525,000 b/d to 8.584 million b/d. The decline in stocks was counter to analysts' expectations of a 1.6 million-barrel build.
On the USAC -- home of the New York delivery point for NYMEX RBOB -- gasoline stocks rose 997,000 barrels to 63.73 million barrels.
Gasoline imports fell 62,000 b/d to 466,000 b/d. On the USAC the week ended January 24, imports fell 135,000 b/d to 385,000 b/d. That's 224,000 b/d lower than the year-ago import level.
* Implied demand is the amount of product that moves through the U.S. distribution system, not actual end consumption.
# # #
About Platts: Founded in 1909, Platts is a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture information and a premier source of benchmark prices for the physical and futures markets. Platts' news, pricing, analytics, commentary and conferences help customers make better-informed trading and business decisions and help the markets operate with greater transparency and efficiency. Customers in more than 180 countries benefit from Platts' coverage of the biofuels, carbon emissions, coal, electricity, oil, natural gas, metals, nuclear power, petrochemical, shipping and sugar markets. A division of McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI), Platts is headquartered in New York with approximately 900 employees in more than 15 offices worldwide.http://www.platts.com.
About McGraw Hill Financial: McGraw Hill Financial (NYSE: MHFI), a financial intelligence company, is a leader in credit ratings, benchmarks and analytics for the global capital and commodity markets. Iconic brands include: Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, CRISIL, J.D. Power and McGraw Hill Construction. The Company has approximately 17,000 employees in 27 countries.www.mhfi.com.
|
distributed by
|
