The U.S. Energy Department's weekly inventory release showed
that crude stockpiles jumped to their highest level since June 2011
amid a 1.9% drop in refinery utilization. However, on the
bullish side, the agency's report revealed that refined product
inventories - gasoline and distillate - dropped sharply from their
previous week levels.
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 2.79 million barrels for the week ending April 06, 2012,
after climbing by 9.00 million barrels the week before.
Analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of
McGraw-Hill Companies Inc.
(
MHP
), had expected oil stocks to go up some 1.8 million barrels. A
1.9% drop in refinery utilization rates led to the stockpile
build-up with the world's biggest oil consumer even as imports
(particularly from Canada) fell.
In particular, crude inventories at the Cushing terminal in
Oklahoma - the key delivery hub for U.S. crude futures traded on
the New York Mercantile exchange - increased by 292,000 barrels
from previous week's level to 40.59 million barrels, the most since
the week ending May 6, 2011. Stocks reached an all-time high of
41.90 million barrels in April last year.
At 365.19 million barrels, current crude supplies are 1.6% above
the year-earlier level, and are in the upper limit of the average
for this time of the year. The crude supply cover was up from 25.0
days in the previous week to 25.2 days. In the year-ago period, the
supply cover was 25.2 days.
Gasoline:
Supplies of gasoline decreased for the eighth consecutive week
despite domestic consumption falling 1.2% to 8.68 million barrels a
day. In particular, stockpiles on the East Coast - currently
confronted with the prospect of three refinery shutdowns this
summer - declined 1.92 million barrels. The reduction in gasoline
inventories could be attributed to lower production and a drop in
imports.
The 4.28 million barrels drop - almost 3.5 times that of
projections - took gasoline stockpiles down to 217.64 million
barrels. The existing inventory level of the most widely used
petroleum product is 3.8% above the year-earlier levels and is in
the upper limit of the average range.
Distillate:
Distillate fuel inventories (including diesel and heating oil)
decreased by 4 million barrels last week, contrary to analyst
expectations for a 200,000 barrel build. The fall in distillate
fuel supplies - the seventh decline in 9 weeks - could be
attributed to stronger demand and sharply lower imports.
At 131.89 million barrels, distillate supplies are 12.5% below
the year-ago level and are in the middle of the average range for
this time of the year.
Refinery Rates:
Refinery utilization was down 1.9% from the prior week at 83.8%.
Analysts were expecting the refinery run rate to increase 0.3% to
86.0%.
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
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment
Research