Recently, the federal government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) issued an overall bullish report, showing a smaller-than-expected build in crude stockpiles. Further, the data showed that gasoline inventories were down as predicted, while distillate stocks also declined, though fell short of expectations. In its release, the agency said that crude inventories rose by 1.3 million barrels for the week ending October 16, much lower than analysts' expectations. This is the second successive week in which the crude buildup has been lower than originally anticipated. A major contributing factor to the modest increase can be attributed to a fall in crude oil imports, which dropped to the lowest level in two months. Current crude oil stocks, at 339.1 million barrels, are 8.9% above the year-earlier level and remain above the upper limit of the average for this time of the year (depicted in the first EIA chart below). The ...

Yesterday, the U.S. Energy Department's weekly inventory release showed a less-than-expected build in crude stockpiles. However, the headline news was centered on a sharp drop in gasoline stocks and refinery utilization that pushed oil prices to a fresh 2009 peak and lifted energy stocks. The federal government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a 400,000 barrels rise in crude inventories for the week ending October 9, much less than analyst expectations. The modest increase can be attributed to scaled back operations by the refiners (prompted by weak profit margins) even as imports fell. This follows last week’s report, which showed an unexpected rise in oil supply figures, against consensus forecast of a buildup. Current crude oil stocks, at 337.8 million barrels, are 9.6% above the year-earlier level and remain above the upper limit of the average for this time of the year (depicted in the first EIA chart ...

Yesterday, we got a bullish report from the federal government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), showing a surprise decline in crude stockpiles. However, the data also showed a buildup in gasoline and distillate inventories, thereby somewhat neutralizing the positive impact. In its weekly release, the agency reported a much bigger-than-expected 5.9 million barrels drop in crude inventories for the week ending September 4, as imports fell and refiners raised demand. This follows last week’s release, which also reported crude drawdown but were below expectations. Current crude oil stocks, at 337.5 million barrels, are 13.3% above the year-earlier level and remain above the upper limit of the average for this time of the year (depicted in the first EIA chart below). The supply cover decreased from 23.6 days in the previous week to 22.9 days of supply, but it remains above the year-earlier level of 20.3 days.  ...

Yesterday, the federal government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported mixed inventory data. The crude drawdown was below expectations and distillate stocks were up more than anticipated. On the positive side, gasoline supplies dropped steeply and total U.S. oil demand over the last four-week period turned positive after a long time. In its weekly release, the agency reported a lower-than-expected 372,000 barrels drop in crude oil stockpiles for the week ending August 28, as a jump in imports offset a rise in petroleum demand. This follows last week’s report, which showed an unexpected rise in oil supply figures, missing estimates of a drop. Current crude oil stocks, at 343.4 million barrels, are 13.0% above the year-earlier level and remain above the upper limit of the average for this time of the year (depicted in the first EIA chart below). The supply cover decreased marginally from 23.8 days in ...

Yesterday, we got a bearish report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), with crude oil stockpiles showing an unexpected rise. In its weekly release, the agency said that crude inventories rose 128,000 barrels from the preceding week, far off estimates that hoped for another drawdown, following last week’s encouraging data. Major contributing factors to the inventory buildup were a rise in domestic production and crude oil imports. Current crude oil stocks, at 343.8 million barrels, are 12.4% above the year-earlier level and remain above the upper limit of the average for this time of the year (depicted in the first EIA chart below). The supply cover increased marginally from 23.7 days in the previous week to 23.8 days of supply and remains significantly above the year-earlier level of 20.5 days. Gasoline stocks were down 1.7 million week over week, better than expectations ...