On the other hand, the weekly reserves of distilled products explode in the United States.
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Crude oil inventories in the United States started to decline last week, surprising the market, while those of distilled products soared.
Crude oil reserves fell 2.1 million barrels (MB) to 532.3 MB on May 29, according to a report released Wednesday by the United States Energy Information Agency (EIA), while analysts expected an increase of 3 MB.
Those of distilled products (heating oil and diesel) rose by 9.9 MB, much more than the 2.9 MB anticipated by analysts.
Fuel supplies increased 2.8 MB, where analysts predicted an increase of 300,000 barrels.
“Crude inventories fell due to a drop in imports, an increase in the rate of refineries and the transfer of 4 MB from commercial reserves to strategic reserves,” notes Matt Smith of the specialized firm ClipperData.
“Without this transfer, stocks would have reached an all-time high,” said the expert.
US crude reserves had indeed jumped by almost 8 MB the previous week, approaching their record level at the end of March 2017.
Total crude oil imports to the United States fell sharply from 7.2 million barrels per day (bpd) to 6.2 mbd. Exports also fell, but to a lesser extent, from 3.2 mbd to 2.8 mbd.
Refineries accelerated slightly, operating at 71.8% of their capacity against 71.3% the previous week.
At the Cushing terminal (Oklahoma, south), where the petroleum used as a reference for quotation in New York is stored, crude oil reserves decreased from 1.8 MB to 51.7 MB.
The surge in supplies of petrol and distilled products, however, shows that the oil market is still facing consumption at half mast, said Smith, the consequences of the marked slowdown in transport due to containment measures still being felt.
Energy demand in the United States has also declined from the previous week, with Americans consuming an average of 16.1 mbd in the past four weeks. This is 19.4% lower than the same period last year.
Production, for its part, continued to decline, standing at 11.2 mbd, its lowest level since September 2018.
It had reached its historic high in mid-March at 13.1 mbd. However, the drop in consumption linked to the Covid-19 pandemic and the measures taken to contain it prompted American producers to slow down their drilling activities.
Close to break even before the report was released, New York oil remained stable, with a barrel of WTI for delivery in July trading at $ 36.82 around 3:00 p.m. GMT.
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