Crude oil inventories in the United States rose higher than expected last week, according to the weekly data from the Energy Information Administration.
U.S. commercial crude inventories for the week ending Nov. 10 rose 4% to 439.4 million barrels from 421.9 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 27, the EIA data showed. This was the highest inventory since August.
However, inventories remained about 2% below the five-year average for this time of the year, the data showed.
The EIA resumed posting the weekly inventory data on Wednesday after a two-week break due to a systems upgrade.
Key Inventory Values
Motor gasoline stocks in the U.S. fell by 1.5 million barrels compared to the previous week. This was 1% below the five-year average.
Distillate fuel inventories fell 1.4 million barrels, 13% below the five-year average, while propane or propylene inventories increased 1.3 million barrels from the previous week, surpassing the five-year average by 17%.
The surprise draw in crude stocks occurred due to refineries increasing production in response to strong seasonal demand.
Product Supply
Total products supplied over the last four-week period ending Nov. 15 averaged 20.4 million barrels a day, down 2% year-on-year.
In the last four weeks, the average daily supply of motor gasoline stood at 9.0 million barrels, up 1.9% from the corresponding period in the previous year. Distillate fuel product supply averaged 4.0 million barrels per day during the same timeframe, slightly below the levels observed a year ago.
Notably, jet fuel product supply exhibited a significant uptick, rising by 14.0% compared to the corresponding four-week period from the previous year.
U.S. Crude Imports
U.S. crude oil imports for the week ended Nov. 15 averaged 6.4 million barrels per day, lower by 21,000 barrels per day compared to the prior week, stated the report.
Over the recent four-week period, crude oil imports have averaged approximately 6.3 million barrels per day, reflecting a 3.3% increase compared to the same period last year.
Motor gasoline imports, encompassing both finished gasoline and blending components, averaged 514,000 barrels per day, while distillate fuel imports averaged 152,000 barrels per day.
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