By Liz Hampton and Georgina McCartney
DENVER, Oct 28 (Reuters) – US crude and distillate inventories fell due to higher demand, while gasoline stockpiles rose last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell by 1.9 million barrels to 410.6 million barrels in the week ended October 23, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 15,000-barrel rise.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 624,000 barrels, the EIA said, while inventories on the Gulf Coast fell last week to their lowest level since December 2024.
Oil futures held on to gains following the report. Global Brent crude futures were trading at $115.66 a barrel, up $1.78, at 11 a.m. ET (1500GMT), while US West Texas Intermediate futures were trading up $2.48 a barrel, at $102.38.
Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 796,000 barrels per day, EIA said, while exports rose by 1.4 million bpd to 4.85 million bpd.
“Energy stockpiles fell more than expected as exports took supplies away from the US. The falling distillate inventories imply diesel inventories remain well below seasonal norms, giving little hope for price relief in the near term. SPR draws have also slowed dramatically, which suggests we’re running out of cushion,” said David Russell, Global Head of Market Strategy at TradeStation.
Analysts for ship tracking firm Kpler warned that export figures reported by the EIA were higher than their own tracking systems.
“EIA appears to have significantly overestimated crude exports; observed loadings were about 1 million bpd lower than EIA reported, bringing other elements of the balance into question,” said Kpler’s lead oil analyst, Matt Smith.
“There were pops and drops in implied demand for the products: gasoline inventories saw a solid build as implied demand pulled back materially, while distillate inventories drew as implied demand popped,” he added.
Total product supplied, a measure of demand, fell by 1.022 million bpd to 20.21 million bpd. Distillate fuel demand rose by 475,000 bpd to 4.21 million bpd, while gasoline demand fell by 622,000 bpd to 8.358 million bpd.
US gasoline stocks rose by 3.9 million barrels in the week to 209.2 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.9 million-barrel draw. Stockpiles in the Midwest are now at record lows.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.5 million barrels in the week to 102.8 million barrels, versus expectations for a 0.9 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.
Refinery crude runs fell by 123,000 barrels per day in the week, the EIA said. Refinery utilization rates fell by 0.6 percentage points in the week to 92.8%.
(Reporting by Liz Hampton in Denver and Georgina McCartney in Houston; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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