The Commodities Feed: Small US stock build – MENAFN.COM

The Commodities Feed: Small US stock build – MENAFN.COM

Continued concern over the oil demand outlook, along with a surprise US crude oil build over the week weighed on oil prices yesterday. The EIA yesterday reported that US crude oil inventories increased by 594Mbbls over the last week, compared to expectations for a draw in the region of 3. 5MMbbls. The surprise build appears to be largely a result of lower refinery throughput, with crude oil inputs over the week falling by 286Mbbls/d, with a couple of unplanned refinery outages. Moving to products, and gasoline inventories were basically flat, increasing by just 85Mbbls over the week, while distillate fuel oil inventories fell by 1. 07MMbbls. Implied gasoline demand continues to recover, with product supplied increasing by 160Mbbls/d WoW to average 9. 1MMbbls/d, the highest weekly number seen since August last year. In fact, if we look at the 4-week average of gasoline supplied, it comes in at 8. 93MMbbls/d, which is the highest since March last year. It seems only a matter of time before we see this 4-week average breaking above the 9MMbbls/d mark, with the US continuing to recover along with seasonally stronger demand as we move closer towards summer. Looking ahead, there is still no decision