U.S. commercial stores of crude built by another large margin for the week ending Feb. 20, as record production continued and refinery utilization retreated. As FuelFix.com reports, inventories of crude increased by 8.4 million barrels to a total of 434.1 million barrels, according to the weekly U.S. Energy Information Administration report issued today.
The Feb. 20 data is the fifth consecutive record-setting inventory level for EIA weekly data, which stretches back to 1982. Monthly data that stretches back to 1920 shows inventories to be at the highest level since 1927.
Analysts had expected a milder build at about 3.6 million barrels, according to an average of nine estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
But the surprise was lessened somewhat by data released Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute, which forecast an 8.9 million barrel build roughly in line with what the EIA figures later indicated.
“Overall, it’s seasonal refinery maintenance that is allowing crude stocks to build and product inventories to draw,” says Tim Evans, an energy futures specialists at Citi Futures. ”The balance still looks bearish on a seasonally adjusted basis, particularly for crude oil stocks that are setting new modern-era record highs each week.”
Still, the inventory report included a number of figures that have worried analysts in the past.
Refinery utilization fell to 87.4% as many facilities pared back production for seasonal maintenance. Lower refinery production has led to falling stocks of gasoline and other inventories. Read the full story.
