The Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday that crude oil inventories fell 3.2 million barrels in the week ending October 2, bringing commercial stockpiles to 424.1 million barrels, about 1 percent above the five-year average for this time of year. The API’s Tuesday estimates had pointed to a smaller 2.09-million-barrel draw. Total motor gasoline inventories rose 400,000 barrels after losing 1.7 million the prior week, with gasoline production averaging 9.3 million barrels a day.
Distillates are where the market’s stress sits. Middle-distillate inventories were essentially unchanged for the week, with production rising to 5.3 million barrels a day, and now sit 12 percent below the five-year average, an improvement from roughly 14 percent below but still deep in deficit territory. Total products supplied, the proxy for US demand, averaged 21.1 million barrels a day over the last four weeks, up 0.7 percent from a year earlier, with gasoline demand at 8.8 million and distillate supplied at 3.8 million barrels a day, down 1.6 percent year over year. At 10:24 AM ET Wednesday, Brent traded at $101.79, up $1.21 on the day but down about $1.50 from the prior week, and WTI at $89.92, both well before the overnight Hormuz-driven spike.