Crude oil inventories in the United States saw a decrease of 2.3 million barrels during the week ending February 21, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration released on Wednesday.
Crude oil prices were mixed prior to the crude data release by the U.S. Energy Information Administration after the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported on Tuesday a dip of 640,000 barrels in U.S. crude oil inventories. The Brent benchmark was trading slightly down, off 0.05% at $72.98 at 10:24 am, just minutes before release. The WTI benchmark was trading slightly up at +0.03% at $68.95.
Today’s dip in crude inventories partially offsets the 4.6 million barrel build that the EIA estimated for the week prior.
For total motor gasoline, the EIA estimated that inventories increased by 400,000 barrels for the week to February 21, with production averaging 9.2 million barrels daily. This compares with an inventory slump of 200,000 barrels for the previous week and an average daily production of 9.2 million barrels daily.
For middle distillates, the EIA estimated an inventory increase of 3.9 million barrels for last week, with production averaging 5.2 million barrels daily. This compares to an inventory dip of 2.1 million barrels for the week prior, when production stood at an average 4.7 million barrels daily. Distillate inventories are now 8% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Total products supplied over the last four weeks decreased to an average 20.3 million barrels per day—a 4.2% increase over this time last year. Distillate products supplied over the last four weeks are up 13.1% compared to this time last year, while gasoline product supplied is off 0.1% from the same period last year.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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