(New York) U.S. commercial crude oil reserves fell less than expected last week, according to figures released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA), which also reported a a stabilization of American production.
Posted at 11:53 a.m.
During the week ended May 20, black gold inventories fell by a million net barrels, while analysts expected a decline of 2.1 million, to settle at 419.8 million.
This contraction, less marked than expected, should be put into perspective, because at the same time, the strategic reserves of crude oil fell sharply again, by 6 million barrels, during the same period.
US President Joe Biden has decided to use strategic reserves massively to try to relieve prices. Since September, they have melted by more than 83 million barrels. They are currently at their lowest level for 21 years.
As for gasoline reserves, they came out 500,000 barrels lower than those of the previous week, a lesser decrease than the 1.6 million anticipated by the analyses.
“This is a report that is not conclusive,” responded Robert Yawger of Mizuho Securities. “It hasn’t resolved any of the issues surrounding the energy market. »
While firmly on the upside, crude prices lost momentum after the release.
Around 3:20 p.m. GMT (11:20 a.m. Montreal time), a barrel of North Sea Brent crude for July delivery gained 0.19% to $113.78, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI), also for July, took him 0.27% to 110.07 dollars.
For the analyst, the main figure to remember is the refining capacity utilization rate, which rose from 91.8% to 93.2%, its highest level since December 2019, before the pandemic.
“We are trying to ramp up and produce as much gasoline as possible before the travel season, but we are not succeeding,” said Robert Yawger, recalling that gasoline stocks had fallen slightly over the week. .
He nevertheless noted that the reserves of distilled products, which include diesel in particular, had increased by 1.6 million barrels, which could take some pressure off the prices of this fuel, which are flirting with historic records.
During the week ended May 20, US crude production stabilized at 11.9 million barrels per day. “People are hoping to see more production so that we can send more barrels to refineries” and replenish some of the stocks, explained Robert Yawger.