U.S. crude oil stockpiles increased last week as imports rose and exports dropped to their lowest levels since January, while gasoline and distillate inventories saw declines, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday.
Crude oil inventories grew by 2.6 million barrels, reaching 442.3 million barrels for the week ending April 4. This was higher than analysts’ expectations, which had forecast a rise of 1.4 million barrels. U.S. crude imports rose by 360,000 barrels per day, reaching nearly 3 million barrels per day, while exports fell by 637,000 barrels per day to 3.2 million barrels per day, the data revealed.
John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital in New York, commented on the situation, noting concerns over potential lost access to the Chinese market due to tariff policies. He stated, “Exports are at a lower level, and we will need to see if we lose access to China and whether export levels will continue to decline.”
China recently announced it would increase tariffs on U.S. goods, retaliating against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies. Starting Thursday, the tariffs will rise to 84%, up from the previous 34%, according to China’s finance ministry. Oil prices trimmed some of their losses after the EIA data was released, but they were still down over 5% by the end of the day.
Gasoline inventories fell by 1.6 million barrels to 236 million barrels, surpassing the expected 1.5 million-barrel decrease. Gasoline demand, measured by product supplied, dropped slightly to 8.4 million barrels per day, down from 8.5 million barrels per day the week before. This decline in consumption heading into the summer driving season has raised concerns among investors.
Kilduff pointed out that the lower gasoline demand could signal an economic slowdown, saying, “This is a bad number and might indicate the slowdown economists have been warning about. People may be concerned about tariffs.”
Distillate stocks, which include diesel and heating oil, also saw a significant drop of 3.5 million barrels, falling to 111.1 million barrels. This was a sharp contrast to analysts’ expectations for a 260,000-barrel increase.
Crude oil stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 681,000 barrels. Meanwhile, refinery crude runs increased by 69,000 barrels per day, and utilization rates rose by 0.7 percentage points, reaching 86.7% of capacity.
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