The United States is blowing past all forecasts for weekly downdraws in crude oil as refiners race to pump out gasoline to keep up with anticipated summer demand for fuel in an economy reopening from coronavirus lockdowns, industry and government data showed Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th June, 2021) The United States is blowing past all forecasts for weekly downdraws in crude oil as refiners race to pump out gasoline to keep up with anticipated summer demand for fuel in an economy reopening from coronavirus lockdowns, industry and government data showed Wednesday.
Stockpiles of crude in the world's largest oil-consuming country fell by 7.36 million barrels last week, data from the Energy Information Administration, or EIA, showed. Industry analysts polled by US media had anticipated a drawdown of just about 2.5 million barrels for crude during the week ended June 11.
The big crude draw came as US refiners operated last week at 92.6 percent of capacity, a level last seen in the summer of 2019, well before the onset of the pandemic last year.
"Refiners are really leaning in on producing gasoline big time, in anticipation of the summer driving demand that we are likely to be seeing," John Kilduff, founding partner at New York energy hedge fund Again Capital, said in a response to the EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status report.
Stockpiles of gasoline rose by 1.9 million barrels last week, versus forecasts for a drawdown of 1.0 million barrels demonstrating the stepped-up refining activity.
Inventories of distillates that include diesel and heating oil fell by 1.02 million barrels versus forecasts for a build of 500,000.
Aside from domestic consumption, exports of US crude also jumped last week, rising 32 percent to an average of 3.88 million barrels per day from the previous week's average of 2.93 million.
Production of US crude rose as well, although not as much as exports or consumption of fuels. Crude output averaged 11.2 million barrels per day during the week ended June 11 versus the 11.0 million average in the previous week.
The surge in fuel demand in an economy that has virtually dropped all COVID-related restrictions has led to a sharp appreciation in both futures prices of US crude as well as pump prices of gasoline in the United States. US crude futures traded as high as $72.82 per barrel on Wednesday, a peak not seen since 2018. Pump prices of gasoline are fetching above $3 per gallon, a level last seen in 2014.
