US Crude Stocks Likely Increased, Products Expected to Decline

Image Credit: Reuters

 

U.S. crude oil inventories were expected to have increased last week, while distillate stocks likely decreased, and gasoline inventories saw a slight drop, according to an extended Reuters poll released on Wednesday.

Nine analysts surveyed by Reuters predicted a rise of about 3.1 million barrels in crude oil inventories for the week ending February 14. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a 4.1 million-barrel increase in crude inventories for the week ending February 7, surpassing analysts' expectations of a 3 million-barrel rise.

Gasoline inventories were forecasted to have fallen by approximately 6,000 barrels, while distillate stocks, which include diesel and heating oil, were expected to decline by about 1.6 million barrels.

The refinery utilization rate was estimated to have decreased by 0.4 percentage points, from 85% of total capacity in the prior week.

According to sources citing data from the American Petroleum Institute (API), U.S. crude stocks rose by 3.34 million barrels for the week ending February 14. Gasoline inventories increased by 2.83 million barrels, while distillate stocks dropped by 2.69 million barrels.

The poll was conducted ahead of reports from both the API and the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which were due to be released on Thursday at 12:00 p.m. ET (1700 GMT), with a one-day delay due to the President's Day holiday on Monday.

All data for stocks is measured in millions of barrels, and refinery utilization changes are measured in percentage points.

 

 

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