The US Energy Information Administration said Wednesday, October 26, that US crude oil inventories rose last week, even as exports reached an all-time high.
US crude stocks rose 2.6 million barrels in the week ending Oct. 21 to 439.9 million barrels, nearly 3 times more than analysts’ expectations in a Archyde.com poll for an increase of just 1 million barrels.
US crude exports rose to a record level on a weekly basis of 5.1 million barrels per day, bringing net US crude imports to just over one million barrels per day, the lowest level ever.
The United States has increased its exports sharply in recent years since the administration of former President Barack Obama ended a 40-year embargo in 2015.
The administration said that the operations of crude oil refineries declined by 114 thousand barrels per day last week, which led to a decrease in the utilization rates of refineries 0.6 percentage points to 88.9%.
The operation of the East Coast refineries reached 102.5% of their declared capacity due to low stocks in the region before the winter months.
Valero, the second largest crude oil refiner in the United States, said it plans to operate its seven refineries in the US Gulf Coast at 95 percent of capacity during the fourth quarter due to a shortage of supply.
Demand has fallen marginally this week overall, but demand for gasoline, jet fuel and distillates has risen, and over the past four weeks, US refiners have supplied 20.4 million barrels per day, down 2% from the same period last year.
US gasoline stocks fell 1.5 million barrels per week to 207.9 million barrels, while distillate stocks, which include diesel and heating oil, increased by 170,000 barrels.