US crude oil stocks continue to decline

Oil

US commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 4.7M bbls w-o-w to 507.8M bbls during the week ending August 21, falling for the fifth consecutive week, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). This is an increase of 80M bbls y-o-y however, with stocks remaining at around 15% above the five-year average for this time of year. Crude oil exports increased by 1.23M b/d w-o-w and 340K b/d y-o-y to 3.36M b/d, rebounding to the highest level since the week ending May 22, after previously falling to a twelve-month low last week. Refinery utilisation grew by 1.1% w-o-w to an average of 82%, rising to the highest rate since the week ending April 3, with throughput increasing by 230K b/d w-o-w to 14.7M b/d.