The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on September 13 that U.S. crude oil stocks decreased while gasoline and distillate inventories increased. The EIA stated that crude oil inventories dropped by 1.6 million barrels, reaching 417.5 million barrels for the week. This decline was less than the 500,000-barrel decrease that analysts had predicted in a Reuters survey.
At the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub, crude oil stocks experienced a more significant decrease of 2 million barrels. Additionally, the EIA noted that daily crude runs at refineries fell by 282,000 barrels, and refinery utilization rates dropped by 0.7 percentage points.
In contrast, U.S. gasoline stocks saw a slight increase of 100,000 barrels, totaling 221.6 million barrels for the week. This was below the 200,000-barrel increase that analysts had anticipated. Distillate stockpiles, which include products like diesel and heating oil, also rose by 100,000 barrels, reaching 125.1 million barrels. This was less than the 600,000-barrel increase that was expected.
Furthermore, the EIA data indicated that net U.S. crude oil imports decreased by 1.83 million barrels per day.