US crude stock build bigger than expected

Front-month ICE Brent crude futures were steady in the first 40 minutes after official weekly figures from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) were released today.

PHOTO: Oil refinery complex with big American flag displayed, and fumes coming out from the chimney. Getty Images

Commercial US crude inventories increased by 2.90 million bbls on the week, to 443.68 million bbls on 15 December, according to the EIA.

The weekly stock build was bigger than the American Petroleum Institute's (API) projection of a 939,000 bbl build a day earlier.

Official EIA data also showed that US refinery utilisation rose by 2 percentage points to 92% last week – the highest since September.

Gasoline stocks gained by 2.71 million bbls over the week, to an 11-week high of 227 million bbls, as demand dropped last week.

Distillate stocks, which include diesel and gasoil, have again risen by 1.49 million bbls to 115 million bbls – the highest in 10 weeks.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

Please get in touch with comments or additional info to news@engine.online