Crude oil prices ticked lower today, after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported an inventory draw of 1.2 million barrels for the final week of 2024 but said gasoline and middle distillate stockpiles had added a sizeable volume.
The crude inventory change compared with a draw of 4.2 million barrels for the previous week, when the authority also reported a build in gasoline inventories and a draw in middle distillate stocks.
For the final week of the year, the EIA estimated a gasoline inventory build of 7.7 million barrels, with production averaging 9 million barrels. This compared with a build of 1.6 million barrels for the previous week, when production averaged 9.9 million barrels daily.
In middle distillates, the EIA estimated an inventory build of 6.4 million barrels for the last week of 2024, with production at 5.4 million barrels daily. These numbers compared with an inventory dip of 1.7 million barrels for the previous week, when production averaged 5.3 million barrels daily.
Oil prices, meanwhile, ticked higher today, in the first trading session of the new year, following a declaration by China’s president that the government will do more to stimulate economic growth. The pledge was unsurprisingly taken as bullish for oil demand.
Brent crude was trading at $76.35 per barrel at the time of writing, with West Texas Intermediate at $73.50 per barrel, both up but likely to reverse direction after the release of the EIA inventory report.
Earlier in the week, the EIA issued another bullish message for oil traders, reporting that demand for crude oil in the United States had reached the highest level since the pandemic in October, hitting 21.01 million barrels daily. That came contrary to expectations that the world’s biggest consumer of crude was taming its thirst for the fuel.
News: Oilprice.com