US crude stocks rise again, gasoline stocks decline for fifth consecutive week

Front-month ICE Brent crude futures climbed by $0.66/bbl in the first 25 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 grew by 1.12 million bbls on the week, to 481.18 million bbls on 17 March, according to the EIA's latest figures released today.

The weekly stock build was smaller than the 3.26 million-bbl build estimated by the American Petroleum Institute (API) yesterday.

US refinery utilisation increased by 0.40 percentage points to a 12-week high of 88.6%. However, East Coast refinery utilisation fell by a massive 9.90 percentage points to 68% - the lowest since February 2021.

Gasoline stocks fell for a fifth consecutive week to 230 million bbls.

Distillate stocks - which include diesel and gasoil – declined for a third consecutive week.

Drops in gasoline and distillate stocks could signal stronger demand, or lower production and imports.

By Nithin Chandran

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