EIA: US crude and product inventories trend lower despite modest production gains

US crude oil inventories fell last week, with government data showing a 1.8 million-barrel draw in commercial stocks to 425.7 million barrels in the week ending 5 December. Inventories remain about 4% below the five-year seasonal average. Total crude supply, including Strategic Petroleum Reserve volumes, declined by 2.9 million barrels to 837.6 million barrels.

Refinery activity eased slightly, with crude runs averaging 16.9 million barrels per day as utilisation held at a relatively high 94.5%. Gasoline output edged down to 9.6 million barrels per day, while distillate production increased to 5.4 million barrels per day, supported by stronger seasonal demand.

Crude imports averaged 6.6 million barrels per day, up 609 thousand barrels from the preceding week, though the four-week average remained 7.7% lower than a year earlier. Total product supplied, a proxy for demand, averaged 20.4 million barrels per day over the past four weeks, rising 1.6% year on year. Gasoline demand slipped 1.3% to 8.5 million barrels per day, while distillate consumption climbed 3.4% to 3.7 million barrels per day. Jet fuel use eased 0.8% from the same period last year.

Market prices ended the week mixed. West Texas Intermediate settled at $60.23 per barrel, up $1.65 from a week earlier but still $8.35 below year-ago levels. In refined products, New York Harbor conventional gasoline traded at $1.844 per gallon and No. 2 heating oil at $2.270 per gallon. The national average retail price for regular gasoline slipped to $2.940 per gallon, while on-highway diesel declined to $3.665 per gallon.

Written by: Aiman Haikal