U.S. Gasoline Demand Rises, Inventories Contract

(CEP News) - U.S. crude oil inventories unexpectedly contracted as more drivers took to the road, weekly data released Wednesday showed.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude oil inventories decreased 757k in the week ending Feb. 27 compared to the +1000k consensus estimate. It was only the second contraction in inventories in the past 10 weeks.

Crude prices were already higher by $3 cents, but jumped to a session high of $45.08 following the report.

The EIA figures showed gasoline demand was higher in year-over-year terms. At 9.0 million barrels per day, gasoline demand was up 2.2% from the same period last year.

The gasoline figures tempered bullish enthusiasm for the energy complex; the EIA said supplies rose by 168k compared to expectations of an 800 drawdown. Distillate supplies increased 1662k compared to forecasts for an 870k drawdown.

The rise in gasoline inventories comes alongside a rise refinery utilization, which was up 1.76 percentage points, following a 0.89 percentage point decrease last week. Analysts were expecting a 0.04 pp rise in utilization. Refineries operated at 83.1% of capacity. Crude oil imports rose by 0.259 million barrels per day to 9.0 mbpd.

There continues to be a huge supply overhang, with crude inventories “above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year,” according to the EIA.

Gasoline inventories are “in the lower half of the average range,” while distillate inventories are “above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year,” the EIA revealed.

All data taken at 10:41 a.m. EST.

By Adam Button, abutton@economicnews.ca

The Copying, Broadcast, Republication or Redistribution of CEP News Content is Expressly Prohibited Without the Prior Written Consent of CEP News.

A copy of CEP News disclaimer can be found at http://www.economicnews.ca/cepnews/wire/disclaimer.

Posted in Categories: Commodities, Economy, Eurozone, Releases, USA.

If you like this article please...

Subscribe by RSS Subscribe by Email

Email This Post To A Friend

Commodities Has Gold Just Broken Out Of Its Trend Channel? The Dirty Little Secrets Of Warrants, Options & LEAPS Interesting Articles To Read The Forgotten Commodity - Rice Commodity Investing: ETFs Or Mutual Funds? John Paulson Launching A Gold Fund With $250M Of His Own Money Profit From The Falling Dollar With ETFs Wheat Playing Catch-Up As Commodities Rally Regulators And Commodity ETFs: Why They’re Evolving Why Gold Will Surge To A Record $2,000 In 2010 Read More »	Financials Ron Paul Thinks That Fed “Oversight Is Laughable” Buffett Borrows For Rail Acquisition Investment Ideas: Here Are 3 Dirt Cheap Stocks Treasury To Auction TARP Warrants Dear Reader, We Cannot Criticize Goldman Sachs. Instead, We Admire It 2010 Outlook For The US Banking Industry Get Rid Of Your General Electric Shares Tufts Endowment And Risk Taking? Regional Bank ETFs: The Bad And The Good Tim Geithner And Congress Take The Gloves Off Read More »	Exchange Traded Funds What You Should Know About Precious Metals ETFs And Taxes Main Street Vs. Wall Street: Using ETFs To Capitalize Why You Should Watch This Leisure & Entertainment ETF Biotech Investing: Spread Your Risks With ETFs Are You Going For Yield With Your ETFs? Rydex Market Timers: At It Again Is An Asset Bubble Forming In Hong Kong’s ETF? Senior Secured Floating Rate Bonds: The Best Investments To Own When Interest Rates Rise KBW Regional Banking ETF: Fundamentals Are Stinky, But The Chart Looks Great Gold ETFs - Will The Record Rally Last? Read More »
Stocks Stock Picks For Monday: Nanometrics, Melco Crown Entertainment, MetroPCS Communications And Cell Therapeutics S&P 500 Index Is Still Overvalued This Small Oil Exploration Company Is Ripe For A Takeover… Here’s How To Profit 3 Steps To Becoming A More Successful Trader The Transportation Sector: Here Are Three Investments In A Sector That Are Ready To Soar Stock Market Briefs: DR Horton, Dell, JM Smucker Nordstrom - Momentum Stock Buy Stocks To Watch On Friday Comcast-NBC Universal Deal To Change Comcast’s Business Model India Stock Market: Renewed Buying Bolsters Markets Read More »	Forex Month To Date Review Of The Market One Reason Why The US Dollar Might Rise Forex Wrap-up: A Massive Short-Covering Rally In The US Dollar May Just Be Starting Australian Dollar: Caution Canadian Dollar: Caution “Audit The Fed” Bill Moves Along USD/JPY Pushing Against The 100 Hour Moving Average At 89.11 Swiss Franc: The Downside Prevails Japanese Yen: Under Pressure British Pound: The Downside Prevails Read More »	Economy Societe Generale Tells Investors How To Prepare For Potential “Global Collapse” Obama Commits To Free Trade Agreement With South Korea, But Auto Trade Remains An Obstacle Exponential Growth, Finite World The Message Of The 2-Year US Treasury Note, Deflation And Japan Why Investors Should Look To Japan Again Bond Sentiment: Treasury Yields May Drop LA Shipping Reaches Highest Level Since Nov. 2008 Velocity Of US Money Supply At Long Last Picking Up US Government Debt: The Actual And Hidden Costs Are Rising Every Day Latest “Disastrous” US Housing Data Doesn’t Support Homebuilder Stocks Read More »