US crude oil stocks up 3.6 million barrels as Gulf Coast imports jump

Analysis of EIA data:

New York - January 25, 2012


US crude oil stocks rose 3.558 million barrels last week as imports edged higher and refiners cut back utilization rates, data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed Wednesday.


At 334.767 million barrels, crude stocks are 3.5% higher than the five-year average.


The rise in crude stocks was greater than market expectations of a 700,000-barrel build, but less than half of the 7.3-million-barrel increase reported late Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute (API).


The bulk of the EIA build was due to a 3.2-million-barrel increase in US Gulf Coast (USGC) stocks.


In the Midwest, crude stocks rose 114,000 barrels, while inventories were up 374,000 barrels to 28.647 million barrels at Cushing, Oklahoma – the New York Mercantile Exchange oil futures contract delivery point -- after five consecutive weeks of declines.


Total crude stocks rose as imports to the US were up 588,00 barrels per day (b/d) to 8.853 million b/d. That was concentrated in the USGC, where imports rose 424,000 b/d and the US West Coast, which had a 254,000 b/d jump in imports.


Refiners lowered inputs by 279,000 b/d to 14.306 million b/d, while refiner utilization also declined, falling 1.5 percentage points to 82.2% of capacity. Analysts had estimated a 0.5-percentage-point drop in run rates as refiners move towards turnarounds.


US gasoline stocks fell a surprising 390,000 barrels to 227.130 million barrels, counter to analyst estimates of a 2.2 million-barrel build, as demand for finished gasoline rose 102,000 b/d to 8.098 million b/d last week.


Total product demand also rose, increasing 1.339 million b/d to 19.241 million b/d.


Gasoline stocks on the US Atlantic Coast (USAC) rose 834,000 barrels, but were countered by a 2-million-barrel draw on the USGC.


Imports of gasoline were up 169,000 b/d to 722,000 b/d last week, some 230,000 b/d below the five-year average.


Distillate stocks in the US fell 2.456 million barrels to 145.545 million barrels, EIA data showed, more than a modest 300,000-barrel draw estimated by analysts.


Demand for distillate rose 250,000 b/d to 3.886 million b/d, which is up 176,000 b/d from the same period in 2011.


USAC heating oil stocks fell 1.275 million barrels to 25.416 million barrels, which is 22% lower than the five-year average. At the same time, total production of heating oil rose 88,000 b/d to 404,000 b/d, some 162,000 b/d below the five-year average.


Stocks of ultra-low sulfur diesel fell 90,000 barrels to 105.2 million barrels, EIA data showed.


# # #


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.


About The McGraw-Hill Companies: McGraw-Hill announced on September 12, 2011, its intention to separate into two public companies: McGraw-Hill Financial, a leading provider of content and analytics to global financial markets, and McGraw-Hill Education, a leading education company focused on digital learning and education services worldwide. McGraw-Hill Financial's leading brands include Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Indices, Platts energy information services and J.D. Power and Associates. With sales of $6.2 billion in 2010, the Corporation has approximately 21,000 employees across more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.