According to foreign news on February 20th, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) stated on Thursday that US crude oil inventories increased last week, while gasoline and distillate inventories decreased due to seasonal maintenance at refineries resulting in reduced processing.

According to EIA data, as of the week ending February 14th, US crude oil inventories increased by 4.6 million barrels to 432.49 million barrels, with previously surveyed analysts expecting an increase of 3.1 million barrels.

The crude oil inventory at the Cushing delivery center in Oklahoma, USA, increased by 1.5 million barrels this week.

After the report was released, the futures of West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude oil in the United States slightly expanded their gains. As of 12:14 pm Eastern Time, US crude oil rose 75 cents to $73 per barrel, and Brent crude oil rose 90 cents to $76.93.

John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital in New York, said, "The low operating rates of refineries are still fueling an increase in crude oil inventories." He added that low processing rates have led to a decrease in gasoline inventories.

The gasoline produced by the refinery is not as much as we expected

The crude oil processing volume of US refineries decreased by 15,000 barrels this week. The capacity utilization rate decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 84.9%.

Due to refinery maintenance, the utilization rate has been hovering around 85% last month.

EIA stated that gasoline inventories decreased by 151,000 barrels to 247.9 million barrels, while analysts expected a decline of 6,000 barrels.

EIA data shows that during the week, the inventory of distillate oil, including diesel and heating oil, decreased by 2.1 million barrels to 116.66 million barrels, compared to market expectations of a decrease of approximately 1.6 million barrels.

EIA reported that net crude oil imports in the United States decreased by 961,000 barrels per day last week, while exports increased by 472,000 barrels per day.

Kilduff added, "Due to soaring natural gas prices and polar eddies, strong demand for distillate oil and reduced inventories are expected in future reports." On Wednesday, US natural gas futures prices hit a 25 month high as extreme cold in some parts of the country boosted heating fuel demand, while freezing oil and gas wells led to a decline in production.

Last week, the average supply of US distillate fuel oil, a measure of demand, increased by 64,000 barrels per day to 42.89 million barrels per day, the highest level since March 2022.

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