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Crude Oil · EIA · Inventories · Refined Products
U.S. crude oil inventories surged by 5.5 million barrels for the sixth consecutive week, significantly exceeding the 800,000-barrel analyst forecast, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data released Wednesday.
Gasoline stocks decreased by 586,000 barrels, less than the anticipated 1.5 million barrel decline, while distillate fuel stocks fell by 2.1 million barrels, substantially more than the 300,000-barrel forecast. Crude stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the Nymex delivery hub, increased by 520,000 barrels to 31.5 million barrels.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) saw a release of 378,000 barrels, reducing its total to 415.1 million barrels, in response to global supply disruptions in the Persian Gulf. U.S. crude oil production remained unchanged at 13.7 million barrels a day, imports held steady at 6.5 million barrels a day, and exports rose by 199,000 barrels a day to 3.5 million barrels a day.
Refinery utilization decreased to 92.1% from 92.9% the prior week, with crude input falling by 220,000 barrels a day to 16.4 million barrels a day, contrary to the Wall Street Journal survey's expectation of a half-percentage point rise. Gasoline demand fell to 8.7 million barrels a day, but distillate fuel demand rose to 4 million barrels a day.