US Weekly Crude Draw Resumes, Diesel Use Spikes Amid Summer Demand For Fuel

US Weekly Crude Draw Resumes, Diesel Use Spikes Amid Summer Demand for Fuel

US crude oil stockpiles resumed their downward trend last week after the previous week's hike as refiners continued to maximize gasoline output while diesel inventories fell to their lowest since April, data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th July, 2021) US crude oil stockpiles resumed their downward trend last week after the previous week's hike as refiners continued to maximize gasoline output while diesel inventories fell to their lowest since April, data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed.

US crude oil inventories fell 4.1 million barrels for the week ended July 16, well above the 2.5 million barrels that industry analysts polled by US media forecast, the EIA's weekly Petroleum Status Report showed on Wednesday. Crude inventories increased for the first time in nine weeks in the previous week to July 9, after drawing down almost 50 million barrels over two months.

The big summer draws for crude come as US refiners focus on pushing out as much gasoline as they can to meet projected demand during the peak driving season.

According to the EIA, refiners operated last week at 91.1 percent of capacity, at around levels last seen in the summer of 2019 - well before the onset of the pandemic last year.

Gasoline stockpiles on their own fell by 2.25 million barrels against a forecast 1.24 million. In the previous week, the count for gasoline declined by just 121,000 barrels versus a forecast draw of 1.04 million.

The outperformer for the July 16 week, however, was diesel-heavy distillates, which drew down by 3.1 million barrels, more than quadruple the forecast decline of 700,000. The outsized draw shows that demand for trucking and other commercial vehicle fuel was as strong as the consumption of gasoline.