U.S. Crude Stocks Dip But Distillates Hold Steady

U.S. crude oil inventories contracted by 3.2 million barrels during the week ending October 2, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday. This brings the current stockpile to 424.1 million barrels, which is 1% higher than the five-year average for this period. Earlier on Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute released figures showing a drop of 2.09 million barrels in crude oil inventories.

Crude oil futures were trading higher at the opening bell in New York, with WTI at $89.92 per barrel, up $0.48 or 0.54% from the previous day. However, this was still down about $0.80 per barrel compared to the same time last week. Brent futures were also trading up, at $101.79 per barrel, a gain of $1.21 or 1.20% for the day.

Gasoline inventories showed a notable increase, with a gain of 400,000 barrels, following a previous week's loss of 1.7 million barrels. The average daily production for gasoline stands at 9.3 million barrels. Middle distillates, which include diesel and jet fuel, saw no significant change in their inventories, averaging 5.3 million barrels produced daily, a level 12% below their five-year average.

In terms of total products supplied, which serves as an indicator of U.S. oil demand, the average was 21.1 million barrels per day over the past four weeks, a 0.7% increase compared to the same period last year. However, the distillate demand, specifically diesel and jet fuel, decreased by 1.6% year over year, averaging 3.8 million barrels per day over the last four weeks.