During the week ended March 27, crude oil reserves exploded by 13.8 million barrels. Analysts had expected an increase of 3.3 million barrels.
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T he crude oil inventories rose much more than expected in the United States last week, according to a report released Wednesday by the United States Agency for Information on Energy (EIA).
During the week ended March 27, crude oil reserves exploded from 13.8 million barrels to 469.2 million, a figure significantly higher than forecast by analysts who had forecast an increase of 3, 3 million barrels.
“We didn’t expect the pace of refineries to brake as quickly,” said John Kilduff of Again Capital.
The refineries operated at 82.3% of their capacity, a decrease of 5% compared to the previous week.
“The reaction to this slowdown was so rapid that we saw crude stocks soar,” added the expert, adding that this very strong increase is primarily due to the impact of the coronavirus on the consumption of ‘black gold.
This EIA report is the first to reflect so clearly the repercussions of the pandemic, the halt in world transport and the containment measures that caused the collapse of oil demand in the United States. , the largest consumer of crude on the planet.
In addition to US crude stocks, gasoline stocks also rose sharply, advancing 7.5 million barrels, where analysts expected a rise of only 1.5 million barrels.
“The weekly demand for gasoline has dropped by almost 25%, which is gigantic,” notes Mr. Kilduff.
In contrast, reserves of distilled products (heating oil and diesel) fell 2.2 million barrels, while analysts expected an increase of 1 million barrels.
“The concern will soon be whether the United States has enough storage space,” warns Kilduff, who anticipates further increases in the coming weeks.
This question is posed all the more acutely since American production remains at a very high level, the United States extracting an average of 13.0 million barrels per day (mbd).
“Unless that changes, oil prices will continue to fall,” warns Mr. Kilduff, who recalls that the market is already suffocated by an overabundant supply.
Declining before the report was released, the price of a barrel of WTI in New York increased its losses soon after publication before rebounding a bit. It rose 0.24% to 20.53 dollars around 3:15 p.m. GMT.
Imports fell slightly from 6.12 mbd to 6.05 mbd. Exports fell from 3.85 mbd to 3.16 mbd.
WTI crude stocks at the Cushing (Oklahoma, south) terminal, which is used as a benchmark for New York oil prices, rose 3.5 million barrels to 42.8 million barrels.
Energy demand in the United States decreased compared to the previous week: in the past four weeks, the United States has consumed an average of 20.0 mbdd, which represents a decrease of 2.2% over a year.
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