US Distillate Stocks Continue to Fall As Crude Inventories Build

The American Petroleum Institute reported a 1.019 million barrel increase in U.S. crude oil inventories during the week ending September 25, surpassing analysts' expectations of a 1.9 million barrel draw. Commercial crude oil inventories have decreased by 38 million barrels over the past 24 weeks, but the overall U.S. crude inventory increased by nearly 13 million barrels year-to-date, as per API data.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) saw an additional 800,000 barrels leave to support commercial inventories, resulting in a total reserve of 283.8 million barrels, falling short of its maximum capacity by 430 million barrels. The SPR's operational minimum is between 250-300 million barrels.

U.S. crude production for the week ending September 18 decreased to 13.939 million barrels per day (bpd), down from 13.944 million bpd the previous week and up 438,000 bpd from a year earlier. Brent crude prices fell to $102.32 per barrel, down $2.83% on the day, while WTI crude prices dropped to $88.96 per barrel, slipping $3.64 per barrel, or -3.93%.

Gasoline inventories rose by 2.991 million barrels during the same week, with a 6% decrease compared to the five-year average. Distillate inventories dropped by 286,000 barrels, falling 12% below the five-year average. Cushing inventory figures, essential for WTI Crude futures contracts, were not available at the time of reporting.