EIA: US crude inventories decline for the fourth consecutive week

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has reported a continued decline in crude oil inventories for the week ending December 13, 2024. Crude stocks fell by approximately 900,000 barrels compared to the previous week, bringing the total to 421.0 million barrels. This marks the fourth consecutive week of drawdowns and positions inventory levels approximately 6% below the five-year average for this period.

Net crude oil imports fell by 1.13 million barrels per day during the reporting week, contributing to the fall in the crude oil stockpile. Over the past four weeks, the US imported an average of 6.5 million bpd of crude—down 2.1% compared to the same timeframe in 2023.

Conversely, total motor gasoline inventories rose by 2.3 million barrels, the fifth consecutive weekly increase. This brought gasoline stocks to 222.0 million barrels, raising concerns about potential weakening demand in the domestic market.

Local crude oil production output in the US held largely stable near the historical high of 13.6 million bpd during the week. Refinery utilization rates experienced a slight drop, falling to 91.8% from 92.4% in the prior week.

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Written by: Muhammad Hafiz