EIA: US crude oil inventories expectedly declined amid higher refining activity
Refinery utilization rates edged higher, rising from 84.9% to 86.5% compared to the previous week, which boosted demand for crude input. Meanwhile, total motor gasoline inventories recorded a modest build of 400,000 barrels
According to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), US commercial crude oil inventories saw an unexpected drawdown of 2.3 million barrels for the week ending 21 February 2025, marking the first decline of the month. At 430.2 million barrels, crude stockpiles now stand approximately 4% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Refinery utilization rates edged higher, rising from 84.9% to 86.5% compared to the previous week, which boosted demand for crude input. Meanwhile, total motor gasoline inventories recorded a modest build of 400,000 barrels, bringing total stocks to 248.3 million barrels.
Crude oil imports averaged 5.9 million barrels per day (bpd), reflecting an increase of 98,000 bpd from the previous week. Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.2 million bpd, 5.5% less than the same four-week period last year.
On the production front, US crude output edged up by 5,000 bpd, reaching a record high of 13.502 million bpd, signalling continued resilience in domestic oil production.
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Written by: Muhammad Hafiz