The U.S. Energy Department's weekly inventory release showed
that crude stockpiles jumped unexpectedly, as imports climbed. The
report further revealed that within the 'refined products'
category, gasoline stocks dropped, while distillate supplies were
up from the week-ago levels. Meanwhile, refiners were forced to
pull back their utilization rates by 1.4% on the back of lingering
hurricane-related disruptions.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) Petroleum Status
Report, which contains data for the previous week ending Friday,
outlines information regarding the weekly change in petroleum
inventories held and produced by the U.S., both locally and abroad.
The report provides an overview of the level of reserves and their
movements, thereby helping investors understand the demand/supply
dynamics of petroleum products. It is an indicator of current oil
prices and volatility that affect businesses of companies engaged
in the oil and refining industry, such as
ExxonMobil Corp.
(
XOM
),
Chevron Corp.
(
CVX
),
ConocoPhillips
(
COP
),
Valero Energy Corp.
(
VLO
) and
Tesoro Corp.
(
TSO
).
Analysis of the Data
Crude Oil:
The federal government's EIA report revealed that crude inventories
rose by 1.99 million barrels for the week ending September 7, 2012,
following a slide of 7.43 million barrels in the previous week.
The analysts surveyed by Platts - the energy information arm of
McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.
(
MHP
), had expected oil stocks to go down some 3.25 million barrels. A
sharp rise in the level of imports and drop in refinery utilization
rates led to the surprise stockpile build-up with the world's
biggest oil consumer.
However, crude inventories at the Cushing terminal in Oklahoma -
the key delivery hub for U.S. crude futures traded on the New York
Mercantile Exchange - edged down by 828,000 barrels from the
previous week's level to 44.09 million barrels. Stocks are
currently just under the all-time high of 47.78 million barrels
reached in June.
At 359.09 million barrels, current crude supplies are 3.7% above
the year-earlier level, and exceeds the upper limit of the average
for this time of the year. The crude supply cover was up from 23.4
days in the previous week to 24.0 days. In the year-ago period, the
supply cover was 22.5 days.
Gasoline:
Supplies of gasoline decreased for the seventh time in as many
weeks despite domestic consumption declining 5.3% to 8.70 million
barrels a day. The fall in gasoline inventories could be attributed
to lower production and imports.
The 1.18 million barrels drop - below the analyst projections -
took gasoline stockpiles down to 197.72 million barrels. As a
result of this decrease, the existing inventory level of the most
widely used petroleum product is now 6.2% off the year-earlier
levels and is in the lower limit of the average range.
Distillate:
Distillate fuel supplies (including diesel and heating oil) gained
1.48 million barrels last week, contrary to analyst expectations
for a 1.5 million barrels decline in inventory level. The rise in
distillate fuel stocks - the fifth in as many weeks - could be
attributed to higher imports and output, partially offset by
stronger demand.
At 128.55 million barrels, distillate supplies are 18.9% below the
year-ago level and are under the lower limit of the average range
for this time of the year.
Refinery Rates:
Refinery utilization tumbled 1.4% from the prior week to 84.7%, as
the facilities struggled to source crude following the aftereffects
of Hurricane Isaac.
CONOCOPHILLIPS (COP): Free Stock Analysis
Report
CHEVRON CORP (CVX): Free Stock Analysis Report
MCGRAW-HILL COS (MHP): Free Stock Analysis
Report
TESORO CORP (TSO): Free Stock Analysis Report
VALERO ENERGY (VLO): Free Stock Analysis Report
EXXON MOBIL CRP (XOM): Free Stock Analysis
Report
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