(New York) Crude oil inventories fell sharply again last week in the United States, according to figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released Wednesday.
Commercial inventories fell by 4.9 million barrels for the week ended July 12, while analysts had expected a decline of about one million barrels, according to a consensus established by the Bloomberg agency.
They stand at 440.2 million barrels.
On the other hand, gasoline reserves have increased significantly while analysts had expected them to decrease by 1.2 million.
They climbed by 3.3 million barrels, while inventories of distillates increased by 3.5 million barrels, as refineries resumed normal operations after interruptions caused by the passage of the hurricane. Beryl over Texas in recent weeks.
But Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates said the refined product numbers could be bearish for the market in the long term, because such a glut of reserves “will squeeze refineries’ margins.”
The rate of utilization of refining capacities rose to 93.7%, slightly lower than the previous week.
Along with the decline in commercial crude stocks, strategic reserves (SPR) increased by 600,000 barrels to 373.7 million barrels.
After having tapped these SPRs to ease the price of black gold, the American government is seeking to gradually rebuild them. Since July 2023, it has thus bought back more than 26 million barrels.
But earlier this month, shortly before the long July 4 Independence Day weekend that kicks off the travel season, the Biden administration released a million barrels of gasoline to the market, pushing down prices at the pump.
On the demand side, refined products delivered to the US market increased slightly (+1.2%) over a four-week average.
US production remains at record highs of 13.3 million barrels per day.
The EIA figures kept prices, which were already climbing after attacks on tankers in the Red Sea by Houthi rebels, on the rise.
At around 11:40 a.m. (Eastern time), the price of a barrel of North Sea Brent for delivery in September gained 1.39% to $83.73.
Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in August, rose 2.18% to $80.76.