Investing.com -- U.S. oil stockpiles fell by more than expected in the latest week, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell 3.247 million barrels last week, compared with analysts' expectations for a 2.26 million-barrel draw.
“It looks like we had another week of tax-related de-stocking of crude barrels for the end of 2020, which factored into the higher refinery utilization rates," according to Investing.com oil analyst Barani Krishnan. "U.S. crude exports have also held well at above 3 million barrels per day versus last week’s near record of 3.6 million bpd.”
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by a more than expected 4.786 million barrels in the week against expectations for a 2.67 million-barrel increase, the EIA data showed.
Refinery crude runs rose 274,000 barrels. The weekly refinery utilization rate was 1.3%, according to the EIA report.
Gasoline stocks rose 4.395 million barrels last week the EIA said, compared with expectations for a 2.69 million-barrel build.
“While the crude numbers sort of strengthen the narrative of ‘strong demand for oil’, that is only half the story as fuel consumption statistics are still way below acceptable levels," Krishnan said. "We had another eye-watering 4.4 million barrel build in gasoline, after the previous week’s 4.5 million. As for distillates, there was a rise of 4.8 million after the previous 6.4 million.
"Something has to give at some point with the way fuel stockpiles keep building without signs of corresponding demand.”