The Platts pre-report analyst survey of EIA/API estimates suggests a drop of 1.2 million barrels in U.S. crude oil stocks
Platts Survey of Analysts
- Crude oil stocks down 1.2 million barrels
- Gasoline stocks down 400,000 barrels
- Distillates stocks up 1.3 million barrels
- Refinery utilization, or run rate, up 0.4 percentage point to 89.8%
New York - June 28, 2010
Weekly oil data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) is expected to show a 1.2-million-barrel draw in U.S. commercial crude oil stocks for the reporting week ended June 25, analysts polled by Platts said Monday.
API is scheduled to release its data on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. ET (2130 GMT). EIA's report will be released on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. ET (1430 GMT).
“Historically, crude inventories start to erode at this time of year as refiners boost run rates to meet a seasonal upswing in gasoline output,” said Linda Rafield, senior oil analyst at Platts.
“Only if there is another influx of crude imports will stocks be able to buck historical trends and build,” Rafield added. But crude imports already jumped to over 10 million barrels per day (b/d) for the week ending June 18, a week-over-week increase of 413,000 barrels and the highest level in 11 months.
Refinery utilization is expected to climb another 0.4 percentage point to 89.8%, in line with historical norms.
Gasoline stocks are expected by analysts to decline by 400,000 barrels. “With demand showing little growth year-over-year on a four-week moving average, stocks are likely to decline, but at a slower rate than is usual for the week prior to Fourth of July,” Rafield said.
Inventories of middle distillates are projected to build 1.3 million barrels, also a seasonal occurrence.
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