US Oil Stocks Down 5Mln Barrels Last Week on Gasoline Pump Up Ahead Summer Driving Start

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd June, 2021) US crude stockpiles fell by just over 5 million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Thursday, announcing a drop twice more than anticipated by industry analysts as refiners focused on gasoline production ahead of the start of the summer driving season.

Inventories of crude oil fell by 5.08 million barrels during the week ended May 28, the EIA reported, versus the drawdown of 2.53 million barrels forecast by analysts polled by US media.

The crude drawdown for the week ended May 28 was noteworthy as it came just before the three-day break that followed into the May 31 Memorial Day holiday, which unofficially marked the start of the peak summer driving season in the United States.

The American automobile Association says that as many as 37 million travelers could have taken to the road for this year's Memorial Day, up 60 percent from last year's pandemic-suppressed number of 23 million.

Those driving over the three-day stretch usually fill their tanks more than once, typically resulting in a boon for gasoline consumption.

But while crude stockpiles fell, gasoline inventories actually rose last week, according to the EIA, which reported a gain of almost 1.5 million barrels in this category, versus a drawdown of just as much forecast by the market.

Analysts, however, pointed to the May 28 cut-off for the EIA data, which came just before the three-day break that followed into Memorial Day. The next weekly dataset from the agency would likely show a surge in gasoline consumption, they said.