By Dan Molinski
U.S. commercial oil inventories rose more than expected while domestic crude production held steady just above 12 million barrels a day, according to data released Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration.
Benchmark U.S. oil prices that were higher before the mixed-to-bullish report was released added slightly to those gains afterward. The Nymex front-month crude contract for October delivery was recently up 2% at $89.01 a barrel.
Crude-oil stockpiles climbed by 2.4 million barrels, to 429.6 million barrels, and are now just 2% below the five-year average, the EIA said. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had predicted crude stockpiles would rise by 1 million barrels from the prior week.
Oil stored at Cushing, Okla., the delivery point for U.S. stocks, decreased by 135,000 barrels from the previous week, to 24.6 million barrels, the EIA said in its weekly report.
U.S. crude-oil production was unchanged from the previous week at 12.1 million barrels a day, according to the EIA.
Gasoline stockpiles fell by 1.8 million barrels, to 213 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations for inventories to decrease by 600,000 barrels from the previous week.
Distillate stocks, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, jumped by 4.2 million barrels, to 116 million barrels, and are now about 21% below the five-year average, the EIA said. Analysts were forecasting distillates inventories would rise by just 100,000 barrels from the previous week.
The refining capacity utilization rate rose by 0.6 percentage points from the previous week, to 91.5%. Analysts were forecasting no change from the week prior.
U.S. oil inventories for the week ended Sept. 9:
Crude Gasoline Distillates Refinery Use
EIA data: +2.4 -1.8 +4.2 +0.6
Forecast: +1.0 -0.6 +0.1 unch
Note: Numbers in millions of barrels, with the exception of refinery use, which is in percentage points.
Write to Dan Molinski at dan.molinski@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-14-22 1104ET
