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Informist, Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024

MUMBAI – Crude oil inventories in the US, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 5.1 million barrels from the previous week to 423.4 million barrels in the week ended Friday. Analysts at Dow Jones had expected crude stocks to fall by 1.2 million barrels. US crude oil inventories are about 5% below the five-year average for this time of the year, the US Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report Wednesday.

Petrol inventories rose 2.4 million barrels from the previous week to 214.6 million barrels and were about 4% below the five-year average for this time of the year. Analysts at Dow Jones expected petrol stocks to increase by 200,000 barrels. Distillate fuel inventories rose by 3.4 million barrels to 118.1 million barrels in the week ended Friday, while Dow Jones analysts expected a fall of 100,000 barrels. Distillate fuel stocks were about 5% below the five-year average for this time of year.

Refinery utilisation rose to 93.3% in the week from 90.5% the previous week, according to the report. Crude oil output in the US, the largest producer of the commodity, rose slightly by 20,000 barrels per day to 13.5 million barrels per day in the week ended Friday.

At 1310 IST, the most-active January contract of West Texas Intermediate crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange was steady at $68.74 per barrel as traders are awaiting a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies later in the day. 

US crude oil imports averaged 7.3 million barrels per day in the week ended Friday, up 1.2 million barrels per day from the previous week, the report showed. Over the last four weeks, crude oil imports have averaged about 6.9 million barrels per day, up 5.0% from the corresponding period last year.

Of the top 10 countries that export crude oil to the US, imports from six countries rose during the week. Crude oil imports by the US from Libya rose the most by 204,000 barrels per day and imports from Saudi Arabia rose by 144,000 barrels per day. Imports of crude oil from Colombia rose by 142,000 barrels per day to 283,000 barrels per day, the report showed. Crude oil imports by the US from Mexico and Brazil rose by 128,000 barrels per day and 121,000 barrels per day, respectively.

US crude oil exports fell 428,000 barrels per day to 4.24 million barrels per day in the week ended Friday, the report showed. Strategic Petroleum Reserves in the US rose 1.4 million barrels to 391.8 million barrels during the week.

Inventory of crude oil in Cushing, Oklahoma, a key delivery point for West Texas Intermediate crude, rose by 100,000 barrels to 24.2 million barrels in the week ended Friday, according to the report. Cushing is the designated delivery point for NYMEX crude oil futures contracts. Market participants closely monitor stockpiles in Cushing, as it has a storage capacity of about 90 million barrels.

End

US$1 = INR 84.71

IST, or Indian Standard Time, is five-and-a-half hours ahead of GMT

Reported by Ashutosh Pati

Edited by Avishek Dutta

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