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U.S. oil prices retreated on Wednesday after a weekly report from the Energy Information Administration ("EIA") showed additions in crude and gasoline stockpiles.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, WTI crude futures lost 0.75% to close at $68.87 a barrel yesterday. Persistently low crude demand from China, the world's largest oil importer, has also been weighing on prices. Recent stimulus measures have yet to drive any significant near-term recovery in oil consumption. A strengthening U.S. dollar exerted additional downward pressure on the commodity.
With oil unable to reclaim $70 per barrel — a healthy enough level for market participants —investors interested in the sector could benefit from focusing on resilient stocks like EOG Resources EOG, ExxonMobil XOM and Devon Energy DVN.
Let's dig deep into EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report for the week ending Nov. 15.
Analyzing the Latest EIA Report
Crude Oil: The federal government’s EIA report revealed that crude inventories edged up 545,000 barrels compared to analysts’ expectations of a 800,000-barrel decrease. The surprise stockpile gain in the world’s biggest oil consumer was largely thanks to a jump in imports and lower refinery demand.
Total domestic stock now stands at 430.3 million barrels, 4% lower than the year-ago figure of 448.1 million barrels and 4% less than the five-year average.
However, on a bullish note, the latest report shows that supplies at the Cushing terminal (the key delivery hub for U.S. crude futures traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange) fell 140,000 barrels to 25.1 million barrels.
Meanwhile, the crude supply cover dropped marginally from 26.5 days in the previous week to 26.4 days. In the year-ago period, the supply cover was 29.2 days.
Let’s turn to the products now.
Gasoline: Gasoline supplies increased for the third time in five weeks. The 2.1-million-barrel climb was primarily attributable to a weakness in demand. Analysts had forecast that gasoline inventories would fall 2.5 million barrels. At 208.9 million barrels, the current stock of the most widely used petroleum product is 3.5% less than the year-earlier level, while it is 4% lower than the five-year average range.
Distillate: Distillate fuel supplies (including diesel and heating oil) fell for the eighth week out of the last nine. The 114,000-barrel drop reflected an uptick in exports, to go with lower production. Meanwhile, the market looked for a supply draw of 1.8 million barrels. The recent decreases notwithstanding, current inventories — at 114.3 million barrels — are 8.2% above the year-ago level but 4% lower than the five-year average.
Refinery Rates: Refinery utilization, at 90.2%, fell 1.2% from the prior week.