Crude Oil Inventory Gain Outshone By Product Draws

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States rose 3.76 million barrels in the week ending April 25, after analysts had estimated a much smaller 390,000-barrel build. The API reported a 4.565 million barrel dip in the prior week.

So far this year, crude oil inventories are up more than 23 million barrels, according to Oilprice calculations of API data.

Earlier this week, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) climbed 1 million barrels to 398.5 million barrels in the week ending April 25. Inventory levels in the SPR are hundreds of millions shy of the levels in inventory prior to the SPR withdrawal that took place under the Biden Administration.

At 4:22 pm ET, Brent crude was trading down $1.78 (-2.70%) on the day, leaving the international benchmark at $64.08. This is a $3 per barrel loss week over week.

WTI was also trading down on the day, by $1.81 (-2.92%) at $60.24—a $4 per barrel decrease over last week’s level.

Gasoline inventories fell in the week ending April 25, by 3.14 million barrels, after falling by 2.180 million barrels in the week prior. As of last week, gasoline inventories are now 3% below the five-year average for this time of year, according to the latest EIA data.

Distillate inventories were also down this week, by 2.52 million barrels in the latest week. In the week prior, distillate inventories fell by 1.640 million barrels. Distillate inventories were already about 13% below the five-year average as of the week ending April 18, the latest EIA data shows.

Cushing inventories—the benchmark crude stored and traded at the key delivery point for U.S. futures contracts in Cushing, Oklahoma—rose by 674,000 barrels, the API data showed, more than offsetting last week’s 354,000 barrel slide.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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