Data Point Of Importance: Crude Oil Import Numbers -- May 10, 2023

Locator: 44609EIA. 

Link here. 

EIA's weekly petroleum report:

• US crude oil in commercial storage increased by a whopping 3.0 million bbls; at 462.6 million bbls in storage, US crude oil inventories are 1% below the five-year average -- I have to re-check but I thought last week inventories were substantially higher than the five-year average -- if true, inventories increased by 3 million bbls but inventories compared to five-year average drop substantially?
• refineries are operating at 91% of their capacity, and again, inventories rose substantially?
• crude imports at 5.6 million bopd last week decreased by almost a million bopd (reported: 843,000 bopd); four-week average up about 1%. So, again, substantial import number and amount of oil in commercial storage is about 1% less than five-year average;
• distillate fuel inventories decreased by 4.2 million bbls and are a whopping 16% below the five-year average -- again, huge inventory build, and refiners are operating at a nice level (91%) and yet distillate fuel 16% below the five-year average -- and three of those five years were "dead years."
• propane is 29% above the five year average
• jet fuel supplied was up 10.2% -- does this explain some of the numbers above; I don't know -- but the numbers this week seem more perplexing than usual.

Does this help?

If accurate, WTI should have increased, all things being equal.

What did WTI do? Continued to slide after yesterday's API numbers. Trading at $72.74.

Link here.