Crude oil prices edged lower today after the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a draw of 1.2 million barrels in crude inventories for the last week of 2024. However, the report also highlighted significant increases in gasoline and middle distillate stockpiles.
The crude inventory draw was smaller compared to the previous week’s decline of 4.2 million barrels. During that week, the EIA also reported a rise in gasoline inventories and a decrease in middle distillate stocks.
For the final week of 2024, the EIA estimated a 7.7 million-barrel increase in gasoline inventories, with daily production averaging 9 million barrels. This was a sharp contrast to the previous week, which saw a smaller 1.6 million-barrel build with production averaging 9.9 million barrels per day.
In middle distillates, the EIA recorded an inventory increase of 6.4 million barrels for the last week of the year, with production at 5.4 million barrels per day. This followed the previous week’s inventory drop of 1.7 million barrels, when production averaged 5.3 million barrels daily.
Despite the mixed inventory data, oil prices rose earlier in the day, buoyed by remarks from China’s president, who pledged more government efforts to boost economic growth. This news was seen as positive for oil demand. By the time of writing, Brent crude was priced at $76.35 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $73.50 per barrel. However, these gains were expected to reverse following the release of the EIA’s inventory report.
Earlier in the week, the EIA also reported that U.S. crude oil demand reached its highest level since the pandemic in October, averaging 21.01 million barrels per day. This unexpected surge in demand went against forecasts that suggested the world’s largest oil consumer was reducing its appetite for crude.
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