USA Crude Oil Stocks Rise by Almost 4 Million Barrels

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), increased by 3.9 million barrels from the week ending August 29 to the week ending September 5, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) highlighted in its latest weekly petroleum status report.

That report was released on September 10 and included data for the week ending September 5. It showed that crude oil stocks, not including the SPR, stood at 424.6 million barrels on September 5, 420.7 million barrels on August 29, and 419.1 million barrels on September 6, 2024. Crude oil in the SPR stood at 405.2 million barrels on September 5, 404.7 million barrels on August 29, and 380.0 million barrels on September 6, 2024, the report revealed.

Total petroleum stocks – including crude oil, total motor gasoline, fuel ethanol, kerosene type jet fuel, distillate fuel oil, residual fuel oil, propane/propylene, and other oils – stood at 1.686 billion barrels on September 5, the report highlighted. Total petroleum stocks were up 15.9 million barrels week on week and up 27.3 million barrels year on year, the report showed.

“At 424.6 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about three percent below the five year average for this time of year,” the EIA said in its latest weekly petroleum status report.

“Total motor gasoline inventories increased by 1.5 million barrels from last week and are at the five year average for this time of year. Both finished gasoline inventories and blending components inventories increased last week,” it added.

“Distillate fuel inventories increased by 4.7 million barrels last week and are about nine percent below the five year average for this time of year. Propane/propylene inventories increased by 1.5 million barrels from last week and are 12 percent above the five year average for this time of year,” it continued.

U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 16.8 million barrels per day during the week ending September 5, according to the report, which highlighted that this was 51,000 barrels per day less than the previous week’s average.

“Refineries operated at 94.9 percent of their operable capacity last week,” the EIA said in the report.

“Gasoline production decreased last week, averaging 9.6 million barrels per day. Distillate fuel production decreased by 25,000 barrels per day last week, averaging 5.2 million barrels per day,” it added.

U.S. crude oil imports averaged 6.3 million barrels per day last week, the report noted. It pointed out that this was a decrease of 471,000 barrels per day from the previous week.

“Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.4 million barrels per day, 0.5 percent less than the same four-week period last year,” the EIA said in its report.

“Total motor gasoline imports (including both finished gasoline and gasoline blending components) last week averaged 681,000 barrels per day, and distillate fuel imports averaged 217,000 barrels per day,” it added.

Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged 20.9 million barrels a day, up by two percent from the same period last year, the EIA stated in its report.

“Over the past four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied averaged 8.9 million barrels a day, down by 0.6 percent from the same period last year,” the EIA added.

“Distillate fuel product supplied averaged 3.8 million barrels a day over the past four weeks, up by two percent from the same period last year. Jet fuel product supplied was up 4.9 percent compared with the same four-week period last year,” the EIA went on to state in the report.

Analyst Take

Ole R. Hvalbye, Commodities Analyst at Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB), highlighted in a report sent to Rigzone on Thursday by the SEB team that, according to the EIA’s latest weekly petroleum status report, “U.S. commercial crude inventories posted a counter-seasonal build last week, rising by 3.9 million barrels to 424.6 million barrels”.

“This marks the largest weekly increase since early 2024 and pulls inventories to just three percent below the five-year seasonal average, easing some of the tightness seen in prior weeks,” he added.

“The build contrasts with the 2.4 million barrel draw from two weeks ago and comes despite high refinery runs (94.9 percent utilization) and lower import volumes. Still, at 424.6 million barrels, crude inventories remain below the 2015-2022 seasonal norm of ~442 million barrels,” Hvalbye went on to state.

In the SEB report, Hvalbye pointed out that gasoline inventories rose by 1.5 million barrels, “bringing levels exactly in line with the five-year average”.

“Both finished gasoline and blending components saw increases, signaling steady output and likely softening retail demand after the peak driving season,” he added.

“The most notable move was in diesel: distillate inventories jumped by 4.7 million barrels on the week, easing some of the persistent tightness in middle distillates. Still, stocks are a large nine percent below the five-year seasonal average and remain on the lower end of the historical range,” he continued.

“Total commercial petroleum inventories (crude + products, excl. SPR) jumped by 15.4 million barrels on the week – the largest combined build in over 12 months. Total inventories now stand at approximately 1,281 million barrels, reflecting a counter-seasonal and temporary loosening in the broader U.S. balance,” Hvalbye went on to state.

Looking at demand, Hvalbye highlighted in the SEB report that the EIA’s ‘‘‘products supplied’ metric – a gauge for implied consumption – remained resilient”.

“Over the past four weeks, total product demand averaged 20.9 million barrels per day, up two percent year on year. Jet fuel led the growth, up 4.9 percent, followed by diesel at two percent. Gasoline demand softened slightly, down 0.6 percent year on year, in line with seasonal cooling,” he added.

“Summing up, the report offers a short-term relief for inventories – especially in diesel – though underlying fundamentals remain relatively tight versus historical norms,” Hvalbye went on to note in the SEB report.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com