US crude oil stocks jump 4.735 million barrels; imports, refinery inputs increase


Analysis of US EIA data

New York - October 26, 2011


U.S. crude oil inventories jumped 4.735 million barrels to 337.634 million barrels the week ending October 21, as imports rose sharply and refinery inputs also increased, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed Wednesday.


The largest increase was seen in the U.S. Gulf Coast (USGC), where stocks were up 4.8 million barrels to 167.2 million barrels, followed by the West Coast where stocks rose 2.1 million barrels to 50.7 million barrels.


In the Midwest, crude stocks were down 1.7 million barrels to 92 million barrels, but crude stocks at the New York Mercantile Exchange’s (NYMEX) crude futures contract delivery point of Cushing, Oklahoma, were up the third week in a row, climbing 419,000 barrels to 31.511 million barrels. Cushing stocks are 8.5 million barrels above the five-year average of 23.011 million barrels.


Analysts polled by Platts expected a 200,000-barrel build in U.S. crude stocks. The EIA increase was more than the American Petroleum Institute's (API) report, released late Tuesday, which showed a 2.712-million-barrel rise in crude stocks to 340.010 million barrels.


U.S. crude imports were up 1.452 million barrels per day (b/d) to 9.373 b/d, led by a 546,000-b/d increase on the USGC to 5.013 million b/d and a 459,000 b/d rise on the U.S. Atlantic Coast (USAC) to 1.131 million b/d. On the West Coast, imports also rose, up 650,000 b/d to 1.512 million b/d.


But U.S. crude imports remain 84,000 b/d less than the five-year average.


At the same time, refiners increased runs, with U.S. inputs at 14.660 million b/d, up 253,000 b/d -- near the five-year average -- and refinery utilization up 1.7 percentage points to 84.8% of capacity.


Analysts expected a 0.4-percentage-point rise in runs.


GASOLINE STOCKS RISE, DEMAND WANES


U.S. gasoline inventories fell 1.353 million barrels to 204.918 million barrels last week as imports rose and demand declined, the EIA data showed.


This is slightly more than analysts' expectation of a 1.25-million-barrel decline in gasoline stocks.


Tthe largest draw was seen in the USGC, where inventories declined 1.7 million barrels to 70.3 million barrels. Along the USAC, gasoline stocks rose 1.244 million barrels to 52.882 million barrels, about 340,000 barrels greater than the five-year average.


Gasoline imports were up 217,000 b/d at 675,000 b/d, driven by a boost along the USAC, where gasoline imports rose 231,000 b/d to 640,000 b/d. However, gasoline demand fell 97,000 b/d to 8.501 million b/d and remains 730,000 b/d below the five-year average.


In distillates, stocks fell 4.275 million barrels to 145.464 million barrels with declines seen across the United States. On the USAC, inventories fell 700,000 barrels to 58.3 million barrels, and on the USGC where stocks declined 2.6 million barrels to 45.9 million barrels.


Within distillates, ultra low sulfur diesel stocks fell 3.6 million barrels to 94.6 million barrels, while heating oil stocks declined 200,000 barrels to 38.1 million barrels.


Analysts expected a 1.5-million-barrel decline in distillate stocks.


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