U.S. commercial crude stocks fell more than analysts expected last week as exports climbed and refineries ran harder, the EIA reported. The withdrawal landed while WTI traded below $79 a barrel, with Middle East tensions still driving supply concerns.
U.S. commercial crude oil stocks fell by 1.7 million barrels to 409.7 million barrels in the week ended July 10, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. That drop, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, ran deeper than the 900,000-barrel decline analysts had forecast in a Wall Street Journal survey.
Exports and refinery activity drove the withdrawal. Exports rose by 459,000 barrels a day to 3.7 million barrels a day, while imports edged up by 60,000 barrels a day to 5.7 million. Refineries ran at 96.2% of capacity, up from 95.8% the previous week, with crude input climbing by 99,000 barrels a day to 17.1 million.
Fuel stocks split
The product picture was mixed. Gasoline inventories fell by 1.5 million barrels to 210.5 million barrels and sat 8% below the five-year average, while gasoline demand held near 8.8 million barrels a day. Distillate stocks moved the other way, rising by 4.6 million barrels to 108.2 million barrels against expectations of a small decline.
Elsewhere in the report, the SPR fell by 3 million barrels to 316.5 million barrels, the smallest weekly withdrawal since the beginning of April. Domestic production held steady near 13.9 million barrels a day.
Prices ease as Hormuz tensions linger
Even with the deeper draw, crude pared early gains to trade below $79 a barrel on Wednesday, though escalating Middle East tensions kept supply concerns in play. The move followed another round of US strikes against Iran and the reinstatement of a naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz.
The recent run has been sharp across benchmarks. Brent futures rose from $71.99 a barrel on the 6th to $85.14 on the 14th, an 18.3% climb in about a week, according to Investing.com data cited by The Chosun Daily.
Sources: MarketScreener / Dow Jones, TradingView / Trading Economics (snippet-based), The Chosun Daily
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