US gasoline, distillate stocks move lower on steady demand, strong exports

Major US refined product inventories saw counter-seasonal draws in the week ended April 22 on the back of steady exports and seasonally strong demand, US Energy Information Administration data showed April 27.

Total gasoline stocks fell 1.57 million barrels to 230.81 million barrels, EIA said, putting them 3.8% behind the five-year average for this time of year, while nationwide distillate inventories dipped 1.45 million barrels to 107.29 million barrels, falling 21.2% below the five-year average.

NYMEX May RBOB settled 11.72 cents higher at $3.4560/gal and May ULSD climbed 20.64 cents to $4.6743/gal.

The gasoline draw was centered on the US Atlantic Coast. USAC gasoline stocks fell 3.18 million barrels to 50.65 million barrels, falling 22% behind the five-year average and to the lowest outright level since November 2014.

But elsewhere inventories remain healthy. US Gulf Coast gasoline stocks climbed 2.38 million barrels to 89.28 million barrels, a 10-month high and more than 7% above average for this time of year.

Weekly gasoline exports climbed 40,000 b/d to 960,000 b/d, pushing the four-week moving average to a three year high of 940,000 b/d. Export data provided by Kpler shows total gasoline shipments reached 4.77 million barrels over the period, 87% of which was heading for Central and South America destinations.

Weekly distillate exports declined for a second straight week, falling 198,000 b/d to 1.28 million b/d. But the longer-term trend remained to the upside, with the four-week moving average edging up to 1.47 million b/d -- the highest since September 2019.

Seasonally strong demand added further pressure to inventories. Total product supplied for gasoline dipped 130,000 b/d on the week but was still 3.4% above average at 8.74 million b/d. Distillate demand, meanwhile, edged 10,000 b/d higher to 3.83 million b/d, crossing above the five-year average for the first time since mid-March.

Crude stocks see modest build

US commercial crude oil stocks climbed 690,000 barrels to 414.42 million barrels, EIA said. The build came in well-below market expectations and put stocks 15.4% behind the five-year average for this time of year.

NYMEX June WTI settled 32 cents higher at 102.02/b and ICE June Brent climbed 33 cents to finish at $105.32/b.

The crude price rally was blunted by a 1.3 million barrel build at the NYMEX delivery point of Cushing, Oklahoma, leaving stocks at an 11-week high 27.45 million barrels.

Total refinery net crude inputs dipped 30,000 b/d to 15.68 million b/d, a counter-seasonal move that nevertheless left the measure slightly above the five-year average. Total refinery utilization also edged lower, falling 0.7 percentage point on the week to 90.3% of capacity. In contrast to refinery crude demand, utilization remains very strong at nearly 6% above the five-year average for this time of year.