US Crude Oil and Fuel Inventories Expected to Decline

According to a survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal, it is anticipated that stocks of crude oil and distillate fuels in the US likely decreased last week. Meanwhile, gasoline inventories are projected to increase for a fifth consecutive week.

Crude Stockpiles

It is estimated that commercial crude stockpiles fell by 800,000 barrels to 419.9 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 26. The range of expectations varies from a draw of 6 million barrels to a build of 6.3 million barrels. Out of the respondents, four predict an increase while six foresee a decline.

Impact of Severe Winter Weather

The previous week witnessed a surprisingly large draw in crude inventories as severe winter weather resulted in an estimated 1 million-barrel-a-day decline in US crude production. The weather conditions also contributed to a significant drop in refinery use.

Refinery Runs

Refinery runs are expected to rise by 1.7 percentage points for the week ended Jan. 26 to reach 87.2%, according to the survey. Estimates range from a rise of 3.3 percentage points to a drop of 0.8 percentage point.

Gasoline Inventories

The forecast predicts an increase of 1.4 million barrels in gasoline inventories, bringing the total to 254.4 million barrels. Estimates vary from a build of 3.4 million barrels to a draw of 2 million barrels.

Distillate Stocks

Stocks of distillates, primarily diesel fuel, are anticipated to decrease by 800,000 barrels to 132.5 million barrels. Forecasts range from an increase of 2.1 million barrels to a decrease of 2 million.

The US Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release the inventory data at 10:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday.

Crude | Gasoline | Distillates | Refinery Use ------------- | ------------ | --------------- | ---------------- -0.8 million | 1.4 million | -0.8 million | 1.7 percentage points

Note: Numbers are in millions of barrels, except for refinery use, which is in percentage points.