EIA: US crude inventories rose at an unexpected rate, reflecting reduced net outflows

US commercial crude oil inventories rose by 2.6 million barrels to 442.3 million barrels for the week ending 4 April, 2025, outpacing analyst expectations of a 1.4 million-barrel build. The larger-than-expected increase was broadly linked to a reduction in net exports, which analysts at Reuters attributed to signs of macroeconomic deceleration.

The inventory rise was primarily driven by a 637,000-barrel decline in exports, which fell to 3.2 million barrels per day—their lowest since January. Meanwhile, imports posted a more moderate decrease of 277,000 barrels per day, averaging 6.2 million barrels per day for the week.

Partially offsetting the build, refinery utilisation edged up by 0.7 percentage points to 86.7%, with crude inputs averaging 15.6 million barrels per day—up 69,000 barrels per day. However, product output saw a pullback, with gasoline and distillate production slipping to 8.9 million and 4.7 million barrels per day, respectively.

As a result, total motor gasoline inventories dropped by 1.6 million barrels, resting on par with the five-year average for this period of the year.

Notably, domestic oil production fell for the first time since 10 January, declining by 122,000 barrels per day to 13.46 million barrels per day.

Written by: Derek Yong