The report from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that total crude oil and petroleum products stocks gained +14.62 mmb to 1242.16 mmb in the week ended December 28. Crude oil inventory rose +0.01 mmb to 441.42 mmb (consensus: -3.09 mmb). Inventories increased in 3 out of 5 PADDs. Meanwhile, Cushing stock added +0.64 mmb to 41.29 mmb. Utilization rate soared +2.1% to 97.2% and crude production steadied at 11.7M bpd for the week.
Released after market close on Wednesday, the industry- sponsored API estimated that crude oil inventory declined -4.55 mmb during the week. For refined oil products, gasoline stockpile gained +8mb while distillate was up 4 mmb.