Crude oil prices fell on Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration reported a draw of 3.5 million barrels of crude inventory between the week of April 2, along with a sharp increase in gasoline and an accumulation of distillates.
This compares with a 900,000-barrel inventory drop reported the previous week and analysts ’expectations for an inventory draw of 1,325 million barrels for the period.
A day earlier, the American Petroleum Institute had estimated a crude inventory of 2.62 million barrels, but a much larger production of gasoline stocks, which put additional pressure on already heavy prices for oil. increase in the number of Covid-19 infections in several major markets.
As for gasoline, the EIA estimated an inventory of 4 million barrels for the reporting period, compared to a decline of 1.7 million barrels a week earlier. Gasoline production averaged 9.3 million bpd last week, a slight decline from the previous week.
In a separate report, the EIA said this week that it hoped to improve gasoline consumption over the summer, having gone from 7.7 million bpd in January to 8.6 million bpd in March.
In distillate media, the authority reported on the construction of inventory of 1.5 million barrels for the week to April 2, compared to the construction of 2.5 million barrels for the previous week.
Average distillate production averaged 4.6 million bpd last week, down from the previous week, when production was 4.7 million bpd.
Oil prices have enjoyed the effects of economic optimism in the United States, with March job data suggesting hiring is strong, although it has not yet caught up with employment levels. pre-pandemic and the economy is on track for growth this quarter and later in the year.
On the other hand, the number of infections continues to rise in many parts of the world, including much of the US, which negatively affects prices.
At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at $ 62.48 a barrel, and West Texas Intermediate at $ 59.03 a barrel, both slightly lower from the opening of the trade.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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