Oil Stockpiles Drag, Markets Wary
US crude oil inventories fell sharply by 9.3 million barrels to 415.4 million barrels in the week ending September 12, significantly exceeding expectations for a decrease of 857,000 barrels. Prices briefly rallied following the release, but then pared gains: Brent was trading at $68.23 (-$0.24) and WTI at $64.24 (-$0.28) around 10:36 a.m. EDT.
On the refinery side, throughput fell by 394,000 barrels per day, with utilization rates dropping 1.6 percentage points to 93.3%. This decline also pressured the availability of feedstock for petroleum products.
Among products, gasoline fell by 2.3 million barrels to 217.6 million barrels (against the forecast for a 100,000-barrel increase). Conversely, distillate (including diesel and heating oil) rose by 4 million barrels to 124.7 million barrels, exceeding the projected 1 million-barrel increase.
Net US crude oil imports also fell by 3.11 million barrels per day. Overall, the combination of large crude and gasoline draws that typically support prices was tempered by rising distillate and weak refinery operational signals, keeping prices cautious.
Key Points:
Crude: -9.3 million bbl → 415.4 million bbl (draw well above expectations)
Gasoline: -2.3 million bbl → 217.6 million bbl (vs. +0.1 million bbl expected)
Distillate: +4.0 million bbl → 124.7 million bbl (vs. +1.0 million bbl expected)
Refinery runs: -394 thousand bpd; utilization: 93.3% (-1.6 ppt)
Net US crude imports: down 3.11 million bpd
Price at release: Brent $68.23; WTI $63.96 (both -0.7% around reporting time)
Source: Newsmaker.id
