US crude oil stocks continue to fall

Oil

US commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 1.6M bbls w-o-w to 494.4M bbls during the week ending September 18, falling for the second week in a row to the lowest level since the week ending April 3, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). However, this is up by 74.9M bbls (or 17.8%) y-o-y and is around 13% above the five-year average for this time of year. Total motor gasoline stocks declined by 4M bbls w-o-w and 2.7M bbls y-o-y to 227.5M bbls, which is the lowest since the week ending November 22, 2019. Crude oil exports increased by 430K b/d w-o-w to 3M b/d, with imports also rising by 160K b/d w-o-w to 5.2M b/d. Refinery throughputs reduced by 120K b/d w-o-w to 13.4M b/d, with refinery utilisation also falling by 1% w-o-w to average 74.8% of operable capacity, a decline of 15% y-o-y.