US Crude Inventory and Imports Surprisingly Increased

Crude oil inventory in the US surprisingly increased last week. Meanwhile imports also jumped due to shipment from Saudi Arabia. Supply in the US was partly offset by further decline in domestic production. The report from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that total crude oil and petroleum products (ex. SPR) stocks rose 5.04 mmb to 1399.92 mmb in the week ended May 22. Crude oil inventory rose +7.93 mmb (consensus: -1.94 mmb) to 534.42 mmb. Stockpile gained in 4 out of 5 PADDs. PADD 3 (Gulf Coast) alone saw a jump decline of +10.25 mmb. Cushing stock dropped further, by -3.4 mmb, to 53.46 mmb. Utilization rate added +1.9 percentage points to 71.3% while crude production dipped -0.1M bpd to 11.4M bpd for the week. Crude oil imports spared +2M bpd to 7.2M bpd in the week.

Concerning refined oil product inventories, gasoline inventory slipped -0.72 mmb to 255 mmb as demand added +6.8% to 7.25M bpd. The market had anticipated a +0.1 mmb increase in stockpile. Production added +0.1% to 7.17M bpd while imports slumped -44.5% to 0.29M bpd during the week. Distillate inventory rose +5.5 mmb to 164.33 mmb. The market had anticipated a +1.77 mmb increase. Demand plunged -11% to 3.27 bpd. Production slipped -0.5% to 4.78 mmb while imports dived -51.9% to 0.16M bpd during the week.