U.S. commercial crude stockpiles fell by 1.9 million barrels in the week ending October 23, and oil prices rose on Wednesday. Brent and WTI both traded higher than a week earlier, while gasoline inventories increased.
U.S. crude oil inventories decreased by 1.9 million barrels during the week ending October 23, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Commercial stockpiles now stand at 410.6 million barrels, which is 4% below the five-year average for this time of year.
The EIA data followed figures from the API a day earlier. The API reported a decline of 2.031 million barrels for the same period.
Brent and WTI climb on the day
Crude futures were trading higher at 10:26 a.m. in New York. Brent traded at $115.61 per barrel, up $1.73 (+1.52%) on the day and up roughly $7 per barrel from the same time last week. WTI gained $2.51 per barrel (+2.51%) to $102.41, nearly $5 higher than a week earlier.
Gasoline stocks rise while distillates fall
Gasoline went the other way. The EIA reported that total motor gasoline inventories increased by 3.9 million barrels, after dipping 3 million barrels the week before. Average daily gasoline production sank to 9.2 million barrels.
Distillates also moved lower. Middle distillate inventories decreased by 1.5 million barrels, with production decreasing to an average of 5.2 million barrels daily. Distillate inventories now sit 10% below the five-year average.
Total products supplied, a proxy for U.S. oil demand, averaged 20.8 million barrels per day over the last four weeks, up 0.2% from the same period last year. Gasoline demand averaged 8.6 million barrels per day, while the distillate four-week average supplied was 4.0 million barrels, down 0.6% year over year.
Source: Oilprice.com
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