By Dan Molinski

U.S. inventories of crude oil rose less than expected last week and stockpiles of gasoline and other fuels declined sharply, according to data released Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration.

Benchmark U.S. oil prices, which were slightly higher on the day before the bullish report was released, extended those gains afterward. The Nymex crude contract for April delivery was recently 0.6% higher at $50.21 a barrel.

Crude-oil stockpiles rose by 452,000 barrels, to 443.3 million barrels, and are about 2% below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had predicted crude stockpiles would rise by 2.1 million barrels from the prior week.

Oil stored at Cushing, the delivery point for U.S. stocks, rose by 906,000 barrels, to 39.1 million barrels, the EIA said in its weekly report.

Gasoline stockpiles decreased by 2.7 million barrels, to 256.4 million barrels, while analysts were expecting them to fall by 1.8 million barrels from the previous week.

Distillate stocks, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, decreased by 2.1 million barrels, to 138.5 million barrels, and are about 5% below the five-year average, the EIA said. Earlier in the week, analysts had forecast supplies would fall by 1.7 million barrels from the previous week.

The refining capacity utilization rate slid by 1.5 percentage points from the previous week, to 87.9%. Analysts were expecting the rate to fall by just 0.7 percentage point.

 
U.S. oil inventories for the week ended Feb. 21: 
 
                                                         Refinery 
            Crude       Gasoline        Distillates         Use 
EIA data:    +0.5         -2.7             -2.1             -1.5 
Forecast:    +2.1         -1.8             -1.7             -0.7 
 
Note: Numbers in millions of barrels, with the exception of refinery use, which is in percentage points. 
 

Write to Dan Molinski at dan.molinski@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 26, 2020 10:58 ET (15:58 GMT)

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