A Bearish Inventory Report for Crude Oil
February 15, 2024
President’s Day is Monday February 19th, and the energy markets are closed so there will be no forward contracts offered on Monday.
The DOE had crude oil inventories up 12.02 million barrels, putting total stocks at 439.450 million and last year there were 471.394 million. Gasoline stocks were down 3.66 million putting total stocks at 247.330 and last year there were 241.922 million. Distillate stocks were down 1.92 million putting total stocks at 125.659 and last year there were 119.237 million. Overall, the inventory report was seen as bearish for crude oil and the big build to stocks was helped by lower refinery runs with refinery utilization at 80.60%. This is the lowest level since 2020 and Whiting, Indiana refinery being offline is a big part of the decline. This is also what has helped back crude oil up and create the 12 million barrel build to inventories.
Propane inventories were down 3.677 million barrels putting total stock at 56.900 million and last year there were 66.297 million. Midwest stocks were done 677,000 putting total stocks at 14.314 and last year there were 17.868. Gulf Coast stocks were down 1.243 million putting total Gulf Coast stocks at 33.213 million and last year there were 40.063 million. Exports were up 107,000 bpd. Demand was up 93,000 bpd and production was down slightly.