2023-12-28 16:39:49
Commercial reserves of crude oil fell more than expected last week in the United States and those of gasoline as well, according to figures published Thursday by the American Energy Information Agency (EIA).
During the week ended December 22, inventories fell by 6.9 million barrels while analysts forecast an average drop of 2.85 million barrels, according to a consensus established by Bloomberg News.
Gasoline stocks fell by 0.6 million barrels, a little more than analysts’ projections (-0.2 million).
Commercial crude reserves thus amount to 436.6 million barrels.
The refinery capacity utilization rate accelerated to 93.3% compared to 92.4% the week before.
U.S. crude production remained stable at an all-time high of 13.3 million barrels per day.
During this travel period for the end-of-year holidays, the demand for finished products has increased significantly. It went from 20.78 million barrels per day last week to 21.41 mbd.
Demand for gasoline increased by 439,000 barrels per day (-293,000 barrels per day) and that for kerosene by more than half a million.
Imports fell by 400,000 barrels per day and exports also fell by 200,000 barrels per day.
Oil prices remained down by the same proportion as before the publication of the EIA data.
Around 5:30 p.m. GMT, a barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in February lost 1.04% to $73.30.
The price of Brent from the North Sea for delivery in February also fell by 1.31% to $78.61.
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