US crude oil inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, increased by 1.4 million barrels for the week ending August 9, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). The total crude oil stockpile now stands at 430.7 million barrels, which is approximately 5% below the five-year average for this period.
The EIA also reported a 2.9 million-barrel decrease in total motor gasoline inventories from the previous week. Gasoline stocks are now about 3% below the five-year average for this time of year. Both finished gasoline and blending components saw declines.
Distillate fuel inventories fell by 1.7 million barrels, placing them about 7% below the five-year average.
In contrast, propane-propylene inventories increased by 2.2 million barrels and are now 14% above the five-year average for this period.
US crude oil refinery inputs averaged 16.5 million barrels per day (b/d) for the week ending August 9, up by 65,000 b/d from the previous week. Refineries operated at 91.5% of their capacity. Gasoline production averaged 9.7 million b/d, while distillate fuel production dropped to an average of 4.8 million b/d.
Crude oil imports averaged 6.3 million b/d, a rise of 61,000 b/d from the week before. Over the past four weeks, imports have averaged 6.6 million b/d, down 2.0% compared to the same period last year. Motor gasoline imports averaged 578,000 b/d, and distillate fuel imports averaged 81,000 b/d.