Weekly Oil Data

Inventories, Exports, Imports, and Refinery Utilization

MAIN TAKEAWAYS

The massive build in crude inventories reported today by the EIA was mostly related to the impact of the recent winter storm that reduced refinery operations and year-end accounting issues, and not other factors. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have seen oil prices up by more than 3% at the time of writing this newsletter. Meanwhile, the low levels of distillate inventories will remain a concern throughout this winter.

IN DETAIL

• The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported an increase in commercial crude oil inventories by a whopping 19 million barrels (mb) to 439.6 mb. This increase is the third on record and in a virtual tie with the second increase on record, which was reported in April 2020 for 19.3 mb. The largest increase was reported on February 26, 2021, at 21.563 mb (see chart below).

  

• The EIA also reported an increase in gasoline inventories by 4.1 mb to 226.8 mb, and a decline in distillate inventories by 1.1 mb to 117.7 mb. Tables (1) and (2) below sum up the changes.

  Table (1)