West Texas Intermediate oil futures climbed back above the $40-level in North America trade on Wednesday, after EIA data showed that gasoline supplies in the U.S. fell sharply last week, offsetting a surprise build in crude stockpiles.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that gasoline inventories decreased by 3.3 million barrels in the week ended July 29, much more than the expected 0.2-million-barrel decline.
The report also showed that crude oil inventories rose by 1.4 million barrels last week. Market analysts' expected a crude-stock decline of 1.4 million barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a supply drop of 1.3 million barrels.
Supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the key delivery point for Nymex crude, fell by 1.12 million barrels last week, the EIA said.
Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 522.5 million barrels as of last week, which the EIA considered to be “historically high levels for this time of year”.
For distillate inventories including diesel, the EIA reported an increase of 1.2 million barrels.
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Always keep in mind that the EIA weekly numbers are "estimates" (more like Wild Ass Guesses) since they don't have any way of knowing what field level storage is. I believe their reports at the end of the month are even more guess work since many operators ask the marketing companies to pick up a load at the end of each month so they get paid earlier. EIA's crude oil storage number includes ~100 million barrels for field level storage and pipeline fill. Finished product inventories should be more accurate, but no one is sure how they come up with their numbers.
Oil Storage Report - August 3
Oil Storage Report - August 3
Dan Steffens
Energy Prospectus Group
Energy Prospectus Group