US gasoline inventories plunge 3.93 million barrelsBy Craige Moore | April 24, 2013 Analysis of U.S. EIA data: US gasoline inventories fall nearly 4 million barrelsNew York - April 24, 2013U.S. gasoline inventories plunged 3.93 million barrels during the week ended April 19 to 217.8 million barrels, the lowest level since the week ended December 7, according to data just released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Wednesday. Analysts polled by Platts on Monday had expected a 700,000-barrel decline in U.S. gasoline inventories. The drop in inventories came amid a sharp jump in implied* demand for the fuel, which rose 366,000 barrels per day (b/d) to 8.750 million b/d, even as production ticked upward by 93,000 b/d to 8.995 million b/d. Gasoline inventories dropped in four out of five reporting districts, with the sharpest decline reported on the U.S. Gulf Coast. Inventories in the region plunged 1.745 million barrels to 71.859 million barrels, bringing local stock levels in the Gulf Coast region to a six-month low. Stocks also fell by 1.096 million barrels in Midcontinent U.S. and by 1.538 million barrels along the West Coast, while dipping by 119,000 barrels in the Rocky Mountain region. In contrast, inventories rose by 570,000 barrels along the Atlantic Coast – home of the New York Harbor-delivered New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) gasoline futures contract – to 60.550 million barrels, as imports in the region rose to 592,000 b/d, which were up 11,000 b/d on the week. Nationally, gasoline imports climbed 56,000 b/d to 662,000 b/d, as imports into the Gulf Coast region rose 60,000 b/d. Imports dropped back in the Midcontinent region and along the West Coast. The heavy drop in gasoline inventories directionally supports data released late on Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute (API), which showed U.S. gasoline stocks dropped 2.699 million barrels during the latest reporting week. The API's data showed sharp declines in gasoline stocks along the West Coast and Gulf Coast and in the Midcontinent, as well as an addition to an East Coast increase of 649,000 barrels. U.S. distillate stocks ticked upward by a marginal 97,000 barrels during the latest reporting week, bringing total inventory levels to 115.278 million barrels, the highest level since the week ended March 15. Analysts polled by Platts had anticipated a 450,000-barrel slide in U.S. distillate stocks, while the API had reported a 666,000-barrel increase. Implied* demand for the fuel slid by 38,000 b/d to 3.588 million b/d, even as domestic production dropped by 197,000 b/d to 4.280 million b/d. Imports of the fuel more-than halved during the week, dropping 183,000 b/d to 154,000 b/d. The sharpest decline was reported along the East Coast, where imports slid by 159,000 barrels. CRUDE INVENTORIES TICK HIGHER, LARGELY REVERSE LAST WEEK'S FALL U.S. commercial crude oil stocks rose by 947,000 barrels to 388.588 million barrels in the reporting week, largely reversing last week's unexpected decline, Wednesday's EIA data showed. Tuesday's API data reported a 850,000-barrelslide in crude inventories, while analysts had anticipated a 1.4 million-barrel increase. The build came as both domestic production and crude oil imports jumped higher. Imports rose by 133,000 b/d to 7.564 million b/d, while domestic production climbed by 118,000 b/d to 7.326 million b/d. Crude oil inputs declined by 586,000 b/d during the week to 14.488 million b/d, with the sharpest drop reported in the Gulf Coast region, where inputs dropped 445,000 b/d to 7.551 million b/d. Refinery capacity utilization in the region dropped by 4.9 percentage points to 84.9% of capacity. An early-day power outage on April 14 in Port Arthur, Texas, temporarily interrupted operations at three regional refineries, including at Motiva's 600,000-b/d plant, which was still in the process of restarting as recently as Thursday. Refinery utilization nationally dropped by 2.8 percentage points to 83.5%. Commercial crude oil inventories climbed 2.845 million barrels in the Gulf Coast region, advanced 1.437 million barrels in the Midwest, but dropped 3.263 million barrels on the West Coast. Stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma – delivery-point for the NYMEX crude oil futures contract – rose by 35,000 barrels to 51.183 million barrels, the highest since the week ended February 1. * Implied demand is the amount of product that moves through the U.S. distribution system, not actual end consumption. # # # About Platts: Founded in 1909, Platts is a leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals, metals and agriculture information and a premier source of benchmark prices for the physical and futures 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 more than 150 countries benefit from Platts’ coverage of the biofuels, carbon emissions, coal, electricity, oil, natural gas, metals, nuclear power, petrochemical, shipping and sugar markets. A division of The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP), Platts is headquartered in New York with approximately 900 employees in more than 15 offices worldwide. Additional information is available at http://www.platts.com. About The McGraw-Hill Companies: The McGraw-Hill Companies, to be renamed McGraw Hill Financial (subject to shareholder approval), is a powerhouse in credit ratings, benchmarks and analytics for the global capital and commodity markets. Leading brands include: Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Dow Jones Indices, Platts, CRISIL, J.D. Power and Associates, McGraw-Hill Construction and Aviation Week. The Company has approximately 17,000 employees in 27 countries. Additional information is available at www.mcgraw-hill.com. |