The American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday reported a draw on crude inventories of 4.775 million barrels for the week ending Dec. 25.
Analysts had predicted an inventory draw of 2.1 billion barrels for the week.
The previous week, the API reported an accumulation of 2.70 million barrels of oil inventories, after analysts had predicted a draw of 3.135 million barrels.
Both Brent and WTI were in operation Tuesday morning ahead of the release of data in hopes of a larger round of stimulus checks signed by President Donald Trump and the House on Monday. However, gains remain limited by OPEC’s plans to gradually increase oil production after the start of the year despite blockages and depressed demand.
Moments before Tuesday’s release, WTI had risen $ 0.41 (+ 0.86%) to $ 48.03, up $ 0.80 a barrel a week. The Brent crude benchmark had risen $ 0.44 a day at the time (+ 0.87%) to $ 51.30, about $ 1 a barrel a week.
U.S. oil production remained stable at 11.0 million barrels per day in the week ending December 18, according to the Energy Information Administration (2.1 million barrels per day) below the maximum a record 13.1 million barrels per day reached in March.
The API reported a gasoline inventory draw of 718,000 barrels of gasoline during the week ending Dec. 25, compared to the previous week’s 224,000 barrel draw. Analysts expected a construction of 1.778 billion barrels for the week.
Distillate inventories fell 1.877 million barrels during the week, up from 1.03 million barrels last week, while Cushing’s inventories rose 131,000 barrels this week.
At 4:36 p.m. EDT, the WTI benchmark was trading at $ 47.99, while Brent crude was trading at $ 51.07.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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