Crude Inventories Increased by 4 Million Barrels, Exceeding Analyst Expectations

Key Insights

• The growth in crude inventories was driven by rising imports. 
• Strategic Petroleum Reserve increased to 350.6 million. 
• WTI oil settled above the $89.00 level. 

On September 13, EIA released its Weekly Petroleum Status Report, which indicated that crude inventories increased by 4 million barrels from the previous week, compared to analyst consensus of -1.9 million. At current levels, crude inventories are about 2% below the five-year average for this time of the year.

The increase in crude inventories was driven by the strong growth in crude oil imports, which averaged 7.6 million bpd. Total motor gasoline inventories grew by 5.6 million barrels, while distillate fuel inventories increased by 3.9 million barrels.

Strategic Petroleum Reserve increased from 350.3 million barrels to 350.6 million barrels. U.S. continued to buy oil for its strategic reserves despite rising oil prices.

Domestic oil production increased from 12.8 million bpd to 12.9 million bpd as producers reacted to the strong rally in the oil markets.

WTI oil settled near the $89.00 level as traders reacted to the EIA report, while Brent oil traded above the $92.00 level.

In addition to the EIA report, traders had a chance to take a look at the IEA report. The report indicated that oil markets were tight due to production cuts from OPEC+. IEA expects that world oil demand will grow by 2.2 million bpd in 2023, reaching historic highs of 102.2 million bpd, which is bullish for oil prices.

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