Analysis of US EIA Data: US Crude Oil Stocks Climb 3.856 Million Barrels on Import UptickNew York - April 18, 2012US crude oil stocks rose 3.856 million barrels during the week that ended April 13 as imports to the U.S. rose, data Wednesday from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed. At 369.046 million barrels, crude stocks were 12.1 million barrels greater than the same week in 2011 and were just 1.5 million barrels less than a five-year average high of 370.6 million barrels. Analysts polled by Platts projected a 400,000-barrel rise in for the week ending April 13, while data reported late Tuesday from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed crude stocks rose by 3.409 million barrels. A 3.4-million-barrel jump in crude stocks on the US West Coast drove the overall boost in stocks, while a 1.2 million-barrel increase in Midwest crude stocks also added to the build. At the New York Mercantile Exchange’s (NYMEX) crude oil futures contract delivery point in Cushing, Oklahoma, crude stocks rose 592,000 barrels to 41.177 million barrels, EIA data showed. This is off by some 719,000 barrels from the all-time high of 41.896 million barrels in the week ending April 8, 2011. Analysts anticipate continued increases in Cushing stocks at ahead of the May 17 reversal of the Seaway crude pipeline, which will run from the NYMEX hub in Oklahoma, to Freeport, Texas. US crude stocks rose as imports climbed 197,000 barrels per day (b/d) to 8.718 million b/d. The bulk of the increase was from Mexico, where imports to the US rose 543,000 b/d to 1.304 million b/d. Canadian imports of crude rose 407,000 b/d last week, while Saudi Arabia sent some 381,000 b/d more of crude to the United States. Meanwhile, refiners in the US upped utilization rates by 0.8 percentage points to 84.6% of capacity, while inputs were up 99,000 b/d to 14.454 million b/d. PRODUCT INVENTORIES DECLINE In products, US gasoline stocks fell an unexpected 3.671 million barrels last week to 213.965 million barrels, EIA data showed. This came in counter to analysts’ estimates of a 140,000-barrel increase. API data late Tuesday reported gasoline stocks declined by 2.6 million barrels. The surprise EIA draw was reported as gasoline demand edged 94,000 b/d higher to 8.775 million b/d and while US imports plunged 278,000 b/d to 427,000 b/d. Compared with 2011 data, gasoline product demand fell 3.17% during the week that April 13. However, that does not take into account higher exports at this time last year. The EIA was underestimating exports through much of 2011, which were inflating the reported gasoline product demand figures. Once higher exports are factored in, the 8.775 million b/d gasoline product supplied in the week ending April 13 was down just 0.79% year on year. Along the US Atlantic Coast – home of the New York delivery point for RBOB – imports dipped to 340,000 b/d, which is the lowest level since EIA began tracking those import figures in May 2004. Gasoline stocks on the Atlantic Coast fell 2.3 million barrels last week, while on the West Coast, gasoline inventories declined 1.2 million barrels. Stocks of US distillates declined 2.908 million barrels to 128.977 million barrels last week, outpacing an API figure of a 2.4-million-barrel decline and differing from analysts estimates who were expecting stocks to be unchanged on the week. Stocks fell as demand for distillate fuel rose 84,000 b/d to 4.016 million b/d. On a four-week average, distillate demand for the week ending April 13 was 500,000 b/d less than the same four-week period in 2011. Ultra low sulphur diesel stocks of fell 2 million barrels to 92.7 million barrels for the reporting week, EIA data showed. This is off by more than 12 million barrels from the same reporting week a year ago. US heating oil stocks declined 100,000 barrels to 8.4 million barrels last week. # # # About Platts: Founded in 1909, Platts is a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals and metals information and a premier source of benchmark prices for those markets. Platts' news, pricing, analytics, commentary and conferences help customers make better-informed trading and business decisions and help the markets operate with greater transparency and efficiency. Customers in 150 countries benefit from Platts’ coverage of the oil, petrochemicals, natural gas, electricity,coal, nuclear power, shipping, and metals markets. A division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Platts has approximately 900 employees in more than 15 offices worldwide.
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