US crude inventories rise unexpectedly, product stocks dip
(Reuters) -- US crude stocks unexpectedly rose last week to a fresh record high, while gasoline and distillate inventories fell less than expected, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, interrupting a recent string of bullish news for the oil market.
Crude inventories rose 1.6 MMbbl in week ending March 31, compared with expectations for a decrease of 435,000 barrels. Stocks, which have been steadily building to record highs this year, once again were at a peak, reaching 535.5 million barrels.
The oil market pared gains after the bearish report, with US West Texas crude futures up just 22 cents at $51.25 a barrel by 10:54 a.m. EDT; the contract earlier touched a high of $51.88 a barrel.
Crude remains on track for its sixth day of gains in the last seven. Brent crude was up 25 cents to $54.42 a barrel, also giving up some of the day's gains.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for WTI, rose 1.4 MMbbl to a record at 69.1 MMbbl. US Gulf Coast inventories also jumped, by 2.7 MMbbl, to a peak of 280.9 MMbbl, the EIA said.
"It was a solidly bearish report, especially in relation to expectations," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital in New York.
The refined product drawdowns were about half of analysts' forecasts in a Reuters poll.
Gasoline stocks fell 618,000 barrels, compared with analysts' expectations for a 1.4 million-barrel drop.
Inventories of the motor fuel have been declining, and are now at lower levels than at this time last year, but they remain seasonally high.
Gasoline futures turned negative on the news; US RBOB futures fell 0.3% to $1.7170 a gallon.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, slipped 536,000 barrels, versus a 1.0 MMbbl drop forecast, the EIA data showed.
"The pace of decline in refined product inventories ebbed and will likely reverse with the increased refinery activity," Kilduff said.
Refinery crude runs rose 203,000 bpd and utilization rates climbed 1.5 percentage points to 90.8% of total capacity, EIA data showed, as plants restart from spring turnarounds.
US crude imports were largely flat, inching up 61,000 bpd, while exports, which have been volatile, fell to 575,000 bpd from the previous week's 1.01 MMbpd.
Reporting by David Gaffen; Additional reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Marguerita Choy
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