Crude Oil, Gasoline inventory rises

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly petroleum status report this morning. US commercial Crude inventories rose by 2-M bbls last week, bringing the total US commercial Crude Oil inventory to 359.1-M bbls, above the upper limit of the 5-yr range for this time of the year.

The American Petroleum Institute estimate called for a weekly Crude inventory rise of 221,000 bbls and Platts saw a decrease of 2.3-M bbls to the gasoline supply.

Crude prices, which were mixed early Wednesday, have declined following today's report from the EIA. The higher Crude inventory build and the lower-than-expected drop in gasoline inventories have tamped down both Crude and Gasoline prices.

Total gasoline inventories decreased by 1.2-M bbls last week and remain in the lower half of the 5-yr average range. Total motor gasoline supplied averaged 9 million barrels a day over the past 4 wks, a drop of 0.1% compared with the same period a year ago.

For the past week, Crude imports averaged 8.6-M BPD, an increase of 530,000 BPD from the previous week. Refineries were running at 84.7% of capacity, with daily input of 14.3-M BPD, down 287,000 BPD from the prior week.

Distillate inventories, which include diesel fuel, rose by 1.5-M bbls last week and are below the lower limit of the average range. Distillate product supplied averaged 3.4-M BPD last week, down 11.9% when compared with the same period last year. Distillate production totaled 4.4-M BPD last week.

Paul A. Ebeling, Jnr.

Paul A. Ebeling, Jnr. writes and publishes The Red Roadmaster's Technical Report on the US Major Market Indices, a weekly, highly-regarded financial market letter, read by opinion makers, business leaders and organizations around the world.

Paul A. Ebeling, Jnr has studied the global financial and stock markets since 1984, following a successful business career that included investment banking, and market and business analysis. He is a specialist in equities/commodities, and an accomplished chart reader who advises technicians with regard to Major Indices Resistance/Support Levels.