U.S. crude, gasoline stockpiles rise as refiners run less oil
(Reuters) - U.S. crude oil stockpiles jumped last week as refinery utilization dropped, while gasoline inventories posted a surprise build, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories rose by 1.4 million barrels in the week to Oct. 20 to 421.1 million barrels, much more than analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 240,000-barrel build.
Refinery crude runs fell by 207,000 barrels per day in the last week, while refinery utilization rates fell by 0.5 percentage point to 85.6% of total capacity.
Gasoline stocks rose by about 160,000 barrels in the week to 223.5 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with expectations for a 900,000-barrel drop.
The report was bearish, Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho, said, noting the surprise build in gasoline inventories.
"It will reverse the gasoline crack," Yawger said, referring to the profit oil refiners can make producing gasoline from crude. "It resets everybody's expectations," Yawger said.
Oil futures extended losses immediately after the data. U.S. crude futures last traded at just over $83 per barrel, while Brent crude futures was around $87.50 a barrel.
Gasoline refining margins <RBc1-CLc1> have fallen from over $30 per barrel this summer to around $11 per barrel on Wednesday, after the end of the peak driving season and as oil refiners try to produce more in-demand distillates.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.7 million barrels in the week to 112.1 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.2 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 213,000 barrels in the last week, EIA said.
Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 539,000 bpd, EIA said.
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