Crude oil prices fell lower today after the Energy Information Administration reported a crude oil inventory increase of 1.6 million barrels for the week to November 22. The build in gasoline stockpiles, however, was larger—and distillate fuels booked a rise as well.
Analysts had expected a decline of about 350,000 barrels, after
last week the EIA reported an inventory build of
1.4 million barrels. Despite the build, however, prices trended higher that day
on renewed optimism about U.S.-Chinese relations.
Crude oil inventories are now 3 percent above the upper limit of
the average for this time of the year, the EIA said.
The EIA also reported a
sizeable 5.1-million-barrel build in gasoline stockpiles, with production
averaging 10.1 million bpd last week. This compares with a 1.8-million-barrel
increase in gasoline inventories a week earlier, with production averaging 10.1
million bpd.
In distillate fuels, the EIA
reported an inventory increase of 700,000 barrels, compared with a decline of
2.5 million barrels a week earlier. Distillate fuel production last week
averaged 5.1 million bpd, almost unchanged on the previous week.
Refineries processed 16.3
million barrels daily last week, the EIA said, slightly down from 16.4 million
bpd a week earlier.
This week has been mixed for Brent crude and West Texas
Intermediate. While both benchmarks began the week with dips, they had recouped
some of their losses by Tuesday, strengthened by reports that OPEC had set the date—Tuesday,
December 3—for its meeting to discuss next steps in the production cuts it
agreed last December. There have also been reports that these cuts may be
extended to end-June 2020.
The rally ended abruptly, however, later in the day, when the
American Petroleum Institute reported an unexpected crude
oil inventory increase of 3.64 million barrels, which pushed oil lower.
At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $63.17 per barrel, down by a third of a percent from the
opening of trade and West Texas Intermediate was trading at $58.28 a barrel,
also down from opening.