Weekly Petroleum Report: EIA -- API -- April 28, 2021

See first comment:

2nd week in a row that the EIA reported a build when it was really a draw...1.45 million commercial barrels came out of the SPR, which aren't counted as commercial...the numbers are small potatoes, but the psychological difference between the two words is immense...

Weekly EIA petroleum report, link here:

• US crude oil in storage increased by a paltry 0.1 million bbls (compare with the API data from yesterday); I assume this will be described as a surprise by Julianne
• US crude oil in storage now stands at 493.1 million bbls; right at the five-year average
• 0.1 million bbls: false precision
• refiners operating at 85.4% of their operable capacity;
• imports: 6.6 million bbls, which is a significant increase (see below); imports of crude oil increased by 1.2 million bpd from the previous week; that's almost a 25% increase week-over-week;
• gasoline inventories increased by 0.1 million bbls and stand 3% below the five-year average:
• total gasoline product supplied dropped below 9 million bpd; down to 8.9 million bpd, but that is up almost 70% greater than for the same period last year;
• distillate fuel inventories decreased by 3.3 million bbls but remain at five-year average:
• but look at this: total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged almost 20 million bpd, up by 35% from the same period last year;
• jet fuel product supplied almost doubled that of last year for the same four-week period last year;

These numbers are simply incredible. Only the most cynical, most negative folks could miss this.  And the re-opening is in the very first inning, if that; maybe the top of the first inning. On top of all that, the US is yet to enter its summer driving season.

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API: Yesterday

From yesterday:

Today's data was the API data, link here; tomorrow, the EIA data. 

Again, Julianne Geiger says it was a "surprise." LOL. It's always a surprise.

Today's surprise: "US oil inventories rose beyond expectations." That's an understatement.

API reported an extensive build in crude oil:

• a build of 4.319 million bbls;
• forecast: 659,000 bbls
• yes, I would say that was quite a surprise.

We'll see what the EIA reports tomorrow; that link is here. 

API reports that even as oil inventories rose substantially, US oil production held steady at 11. million bpd. Pretty remarkable. So, either imports or less demand.