U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose more than expected last week, while gasoline and distillate inventories fell as product exports rose amid refinery spring maintenance, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday.
Crude inventories rose by 3.6 million barrels to 433.8 million barrels in the week to Feb. 28, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 341,000-barrel rise.
Refinery crude runs fell by 346,000 barrels per day (bpd) and utilization rates slipped 0.6 percentage point to 85.9 per cent of total capacity. Rates have hovered around 85 per cent since mid-January due to seasonal maintenance.
On the East Coast, refinery utilization rates dropped to their lowest since July 2020, slumping to 54.8 per cent of capacity from 82.5 per cent in the prior week.
Gasoline stocks fell by 1.4 million barrels in the week to 246.8 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with expectations for a 369,000-barrel draw. Gasoline inventories in the Midwest rose to 60.4 million barrels, the highest since February 2024.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.3 million barrels in the week to 119.2 million barrels, versus expectations for a 220,000-barrel rise, the data showed.
“In my view the report is constructive, with total petroleum inventories declining despite a crude build, which is the result of U.S. refineries still in maintenance,” said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst with UBS. “Recovering U.S. product exports also helped to see larger refined product draws last week.”
U.S. product exports jumped to just over 7 million bpd from 5.4 million bpd the week prior, the data showed.
Following the data, Brent crude futures and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures extended losses, with both benchmarks last falling by over $2 a barrel. Brent crude hit $68.70, its lowest since December 2021, due to concerns over the U.S. crude build, OPEC+ output increase, and Trump tariffs.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 1.1 million barrels in the week, the EIA said.
Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 54,000 bpd, the EIA said.