U.S. crude oil inventories have reported builds for the fourth consecutive week as of April 18, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on April 23. This increase occurs despite a rise in refinery demand and is largely attributed to slower export rates.
In the reported week, U.S. commercial crude stocks increased by 240,000 barrels, reaching 443.1 million barrels. This figure marks the highest level since early July 2024 but remains 5.7% lower than the five-year average for this period.
Interestingly, this build contrasts with a report from the American Petroleum Institute, which indicated a draw of 4.6 million barrels. However, it aligns with analysts’ forecasts predicting a 500,000 barrel build, as surveyed by Platts.
It’s noteworthy that while the overall crude inventory increased, there were drawdowns in specific regions. U.S. Gulf Coast crude stocks decreased by 1.01 million barrels, and inventories at the NYMEX delivery hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, fell by 90,000 barrels.
U.S. crude exports have also seen a significant decline, averaging 3.55 million barrels per day, down 1.55 million barrels from the previous week. This downturn results from diminishing arbitrage economics.
While refinery utilization rose by 1.8 percentage points to 88.1% of capacity, contributing to an uptick in refinery inputs, margins weakened. The average cracking margin for WTI MEH was reported at $11.81 per barrel, lower than the average for April.
In terms of gasoline inventory, stocks observed a notable decline of 4.48 million barrels, hitting 229.54 million barrels, marking the steepest one-week draw since October 2024. This decline has continued for eight weeks, reflecting increasing gasoline demand, which averaged 9.41 million barrels per day.
Additionally, distillate stocks fell by 2.35 million barrels, pushing them below typical levels for this time of year.