EIA: U.S. crude stocks climb more than expected as refinery crude runs decline
- Crude inventories rise by 3.5 MMbbl
- Refinery crude runs drop to lowest since February 2024
- S. and Brent crude prices fall after data release
U.S. crude stocks rose more than expected last week as refining crude runs dropped sharply to their lowest in more than a year and a half, data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Thursday.
Crude inventories increased by 3.5 MMbbl to 423.8 MMbbl in the week ended October 10, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a poll for a 288,000-bbl rise.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 703,000 bbl in the week, the EIA said.
Refinery crude runs, the volume of crude processed by refineries, dropped by 1.2 MMbpd to 14.7 MMbpd, the lowest since February 2024, the EIA said.
Refinery utilization rates fell by 6.7% in the week to 85.7%, the lowest since the week of February 14. Net U.S. crude imports fell by 1.75 MMbpd to 1.06 MMbpd, EIA said.
"This week, we saw the impact of refinery maintenance by the significant decline in utilization. This has led to an increase in crude inventories and a decrease in refined product inventories," said Andrew Lipow, president of consultancy Lipow Oil Associates.
U.S. and Brent crude tumbled after the data also showed a rise in U.S. production to 13.636 MMbpd, the highest on record.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down $0.45 at $57.81 at 12:47 p.m. EDT (1648 GMT), while Brent crude futures were down $0.52 at $61.39 a barrel.
U.S. gasoline futures also extended losses following the data. They traded down 1.3% at $1.81 per gallon, while U.S. heating oil futures were last down 0.45% at $2.17 per gallon.
U.S. distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 4.5 MMbbl in the week to 117 MMbbl, versus expectations for a 294,000-bbl drop, the EIA data showed.
Product supplied of distillate fuel oil, a proxy for demand, eased 113,000 bpd to 4.23 MMbpd. Gasoline supplied also eased, by 464,000 bpd to 8.45 MMbpd.
U.S. gasoline stocks dropped by 267,000 bbl in the week to 218.8 MMbbl, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a poll for a 75,000-bbl draw.
"A modestly bearish report, with a large crude build being offset by a large distillate draw, but with implied oil demand considerably weaker than last week," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.
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