As crude imports rise, US oil stocks rise as fuel demand weakens: EIA

US oil inventories rose across the board last week as crude imports rose and exports fell, and demand for gasoline and distillates weakened, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories rose 833,000 barrels to 419.1 million barrels in the week ended Sept. 6, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 987,000-barrel increase.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell 1.7 million barrels in the week.

The crude benchmark rose after the data. Brent was up 0.7% and US oil futures were up 1% by 11:30 a.m. EDT (1530 GMT). Both were up $1 at the start of the session.

Net US crude imports rose 1.5 million barrels per day to the highest level since June, while crude exports fell 451,000 bpd to 3.31 million bpd, the lowest level since June.

“Import figures can be volatile on a week-to-week basis and may be a reflection of what’s happening with shipping on the Gulf Coast,” said Andrew Lipov, president of Lipov Oil Associates.

“Next week I suspect the numbers will be affected by the hurricane

“Francine disrupts the flow of tankers through the Gulf of Mexico,” he added.

Energy facilities

The US cut operations along the Gulf Coast this week and evacuated some production sites ahead of Francine, which strengthened into a hurricane Tuesday night. The fourth hurricane of the Atlantic season was moving toward the Louisiana coast.

“The report appears to dampen today’s rally, but the focus should be on how much damage Hurricane Francine will wreak on the US Gulf,” said Matt Smith, an analyst at energy data firm Kpler.

Refinery crude runs fell by 141,000 bpd last week and refinery utilization fell 0.5 percent to 92.8% of total capacity.

Total supplied output, a measure of demand, fell 1.2 million bpd week-on-week to 19.4 million bpd and totaled 20.5 million bpd over the past four weeks, down 2.2% on the year.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose 2.3 million barrels to 125 million barrels in the week, EIA data showed, beating expectations for a 300,000-barrel increase.

Gasoline stocks rose 2.3 million barrels in the week to 221.6 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with forecasts for a 100,000-barrel draw.

Total gasoline supplied for the week fell 460,000 bpd to 8.48 million barrels per day.

“The weekly report shows a slowdown in demand, particularly weak gasoline demand,” said Josh Young, chief investment officer at Bison Interests.

“It is also likely that product inventories were built up ahead of the incoming storm,” he added.