Crude oil inventories declined by 2.4 MMB this week, with declines also posted for Cushing and the Gulf Coast (PADD3). This pushed total crude oil inventories back toward the middle of the 5 year range. Cushing inventories fell for the 9th week in a row and are now well below the 5 year range. Gulf inventories are still swollen, and probably declined this week because the closure of the Houston Ship Channel prevented offloading for numerous vessels. This also manifested in a sharp decline in crude imports for the week.
Gasoline inventories fell below the 5 year range this week, despite a demand decline, and Diesel stocks were slightly up (554K barrels).
Core inventories:
Cushing and Gulf Coast Commercial Crude Oil:
Supply
Domestic production was unchanged last week at 8.19 MMBBL. Crude imports were down substantially on the Houston Ship Channel closure. Ethanol production rose sharply, above the 3 year range to a new high for the year.
Demand
Gasoline and Diesel both moved back to the middle of the 5 year range this week. Gasoline demand has recently been averaging above 2013. Total product supplied was at the low end of the range, and the total this week was affected by an anomalous sharp rise in Jet Fuel demand and a low reading for the volatile 'Other Products' category. Propane demand continued in the low end of the range.
PDF Reports:
EIA Weekly Petroleum Inventory
EIA Weekly Petroleum Supply
EIA Weekly Petroleum Demand
