US Crude Oil Inventories Hit Pre-Pandemic Lows As Demand Surges - Energy Agency EIA

Weekly demand figures for oil in the United States are continuing to blow past industry estimates, with the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reporting on Wednesday another outsize consumption for last week that took crude inventories to lows last seen before the coronavirus pandemic

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd June, 2021) Weekly demand figures for oil in the United States are continuing to blow past industry estimates, with the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reporting on Wednesday another outsize consumption for last week that took crude inventories to lows last seen before the coronavirus pandemic.

Crude oil inventories fell 7.61 million barrels for the week ended June 18, the EIA reported, versus the draw of 3.94 million barrels forecast by analysts polled by US media. This makes it the lowest weekly reading for crude stocks since March 2020, the agency said.

Stockpiles of gasoline declined by 2.9 million barrels last week, versus expectations for a build of 833,00 barrels, the EIA added in its Weekly Petroleum Status report.

"The surprise in this report is the drawdown in gasoline inventories," said Adam Button, an economist at ForexLive. "Gasoline tightening up points to strong driving demand."

Oil prices jumped in response to the bullish crude and gasoline draws.

West Texas Intermediate crude, the benchmark for US oil, was at $73.64 per barrel by 11:05 AM ET (15:05 GMT), up 79 cents, or 1.1 percent. WTI touched $74.23 earlier, its highest since October 2018.

Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, was at $75.69, up 88 cents, or 1.2 percent, after scaling a session high of $76, also a peak since October 2018.

Only inventories of distillates showed sluggish numbers reported by the EIA. This category, which includes diesel and heating oil, grew by 1.75 million barrels, overshooting forecasts for a rise of 1.0 million.

Exports of US crude, meanwhile, remained red-hot at 3.65 million barrels per day versus the previous week's 3.89 million.

US production of crude itself remained anemic at an estimated 11.1 million barrels daily versus the previous week's 11.2 million, although this looked set to increase with the price of WTI nearing $75 per barrel.