U.S. crude stocks drop while distillates jump 2M barrels or more each - API
Investing.com -- U.S. crude oil stocks likely fell by almost 2.5 million barrels last week, with a build almost as large in distillates and a slight drop in gasoline stocks, petroleum industry group API indicated in a preliminary report on Tuesday ahead of official inventory data.
The U.S. crude inventory balance possibly dipped by 2.418M barrels during the week ended Aug 18, according to the API, or American Petroleum Institute.
The petroleum industry group reported a crude build of 6.195M barrels in the prior week to Aug 11.
The API numbers serve as a precursor to official inventory data on the same due from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, or EIA, on Wednesday.
In the previous week, the EIA reported a record crude build of 5.851 barrels, underscoring Saudi Arabia’s claims that it has taken an additional million barrels per day off its production since the start of July. The Saudis have pledged to keep up with such cuts through September.
Along with the broader crude stockpile gain it reported for last week, the API cited a slide of 2.21M barrels last week at the Cushing, Oklahoma hub that takes delivery of U.S. crude. In the prior week, the API reported a Cushing deficit of 1.0M barrels.
On the fuels side, API reported a gasoline slide of 0.153M barrels and a distillate stock build of 1.898M barrels. In the previous week, it noted a 0.7M barrel draw for gasoline and 0.8M deficit for distillates.
With the API report out, anticipation builds on what the EIA will cite for last week’s oil supply-demand in the United States, and how that will impact crude prices that fell for the first time last week after a seven-week rally.
For last week, analysts tracked by Investing.com expect the EIA to report a crude stockpile drop of 2.299 million barrels, versus the 5.96M barrel reduction reported during the week to Aug 11.
On the gasoline inventory front, the consensus is for a build of 0.436M barrels over the 0.261M-barrel decline in the previous week. Automotive fuel gasoline is the No. 1 U.S. fuel product.
With distillate stockpiles, the expectation is for a climb of 0.095million barrels versus the prior week’s gain of 0.296M. Distillates are refined into heating oil, diesel for trucks, buses, trains and ships and fuel for jets.
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