US crude stocks fall unexpectedly in week – EIA
US crude stocks fell by 2.5 million barrels last week. Reuters photo by Rick Wilking.
US crude stocks, gasoline stocks down
NEW YORK, Aug 17 (Reuters) – US. crude stocks fell unexpectedly last week, while gasoline stocks decreased more than expected and distillate inventories rose, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell by 2.5 million barrels in the last week, compared with analysts’ expectations for an increase of 522,000 barrels.
US crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 724,000 barrels, EIA said.
“While the numbers are bullish in terms of headlines and we could see crude rally further on more rhetoric ahead of the informal OPEC-and-rest meeting, we feel all these are already baked into the cake,” said Tariq Zahir, trader in crude oil spreads at Tyche Capital in New York.
WTI crude futures for September delivery fell 14 cents to $46.44 a barrel, at 11:51 a.m. Eastern (15:51 GMT). WTI prices traded at a high point for the day of $46.79 and a low of $45.84 a barrel. Brent crude futures for October delivery rose 16 cents to $49.39 a barrel.
Refinery crude runs rose by 268,000 barrels per day, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates rose by 1.3 percentage points.
Gasoline stocks fell by 2.7 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.6 million-barrel drop.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 1.9 million barrels, versus expectations for a 742,000-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.
US crude imports fell last week by 211,000 barrels per day.
(Reporting By Jessica Resnick-Ault; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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