Oil Pares Losses After EIA Report
NEW YORK (DTN) -- New York Mercantile Exchange crude oil futures pared losses after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a less-than-expected crude oil stock build as refiners ramped up operations and increased demand last week ahead of this Thanksgiving holiday week.
The EIA reported domestic crude stockpiles added only 960,000 barrel for the week ended Nov. 20, falling short of an expected build of 1.3 million bbl but still a ninth consecutive weekly increase.
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Data shows the refinery utilization rate climbed 1.7% to 92% and 304,000 bpd more crude than a week prior was refined into products. Refinery input is a proxy for crude demand.
At 10 a.m. CT, the NYMEX January WTI contract was down 35 cents at $42.52 bbl while the ICE January Brent contract declined 45 cents to $45.67 bbl. NYMEX December ULSD futures eased 0.36 cents to $1.3961 gallon, while the December RBOB futures contract tumbled 3.19 cents to $1.3583 gallon.
EIA reported crude supplies at the Cushing hub in Oklahoma rose 1.7 million bbl, slightly below the 1.9 million bbl build reported late Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute but again missing the market’s expected increase of 1.5 million bbl.
On products, EIA reported gasoline stocks increased 2.5 million bbl, surpassing API’s data showing a 1.4 million bbl build while the market expected supplies to hold steady at the prior week’s level.
Distillate stocks increased 1.0 million bbl, said EIA, surpassing a nearly 700,000 bbl build reported by API and missing an expected 1.7 million bbl draw.
The market remains generally oversupplied and geopolitical risk following Turkey’s shoot down of a Russian war jet have faded.
George Orwel can be reached at george.orwel@dtn.com
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