US Crude Inventories Plunge 8.557 Million Barrels to 415.6 Million, the Biggest Drop Since February; Analysts Had Expected a 100,000-Barrel Build
Washington — U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 8.557 million barrels in the week ended October 9 to 415.6 million barrels, about 3% below the five-year average for the time of year, the Energy Information Administration reported on October 15. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected an increase of 100,000 barrels. Bloomberg described it as the biggest weekly decline since February, in part because Hurricane Isaias shut in offshore production in the Gulf.
Oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was unchanged at 283 million barrels. Stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for the New York Mercantile Exchange, rose by 1.9 million barrels to 26.6 million.
The EIA estimated U.S. crude production at 13.7 million barrels a day, down 300,000 barrels a day from the previous week. Producers evacuated platforms ahead of Hurricane Isaias, with more than 70% of offshore oil output shut in by Friday of that week; most of the production had been restored by Wednesday of this week. Crude imports fell by 791,000 barrels a day to 6.0 million barrels a day, and exports fell by 195,000 barrels a day to 4.6 million barrels a day.
Refinery capacity use rose to 93.5% from 92.7%, with crude inputs averaging 16.6 million barrels a day, down 135,000 barrels a day from the previous week. Gasoline inventories increased by 3.5 million barrels to 208.3 million barrels, about 4% below the five-year average, while distillate stocks fell by 2.5 million barrels, about 12% below the five-year average. Total commercial petroleum inventories fell by 13.4 million barrels on the week.
After the data, crude futures rose in New York on Thursday: the November West Texas Intermediate contract settled up 3.03% at $97.97 a barrel, while the December Brent contract settled down 0.13% at $105.92.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国战略石油储备路易斯安那州West Hackberry场地的淡水罐（资料图）。图片来源：美国能源部（ENERGY.GOV），公共领域。Photo: Fresh water tanks at the West Hackberry site of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Louisiana (file photo). Image: U.S. Department of Energy (ENERGY.GOV), public domain.
