EIA: US refiners push runs near record even as crude inventories barely budge

US commercial crude inventories (excluding SPR) rose 0.1 million barrels to 428.9 million barrels in the week ended August 21, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 597,000-barrel rise.

Crude imports fell 435,000 barrels a day to 6.2 million, while exports dropped 274,000 barrels a day, a rare instance of both sides of the crude trade retreating in tandem rather than offsetting one another. Because imports fell faster than exports, net imports tightened by roughly 161,000 barrels a day on the week, a squeeze that argues the import decline was the dominant force behind the flat inventory print rather than any pickup in outbound flows. Domestic production edged up 13,000 barrels a day, a modest gain that did little to backfill the import shortfall and left the barely positive inventory print looking more like a wash than a genuine cushion build.

Motor gasoline told a tighter story as total inventories fell 2.5 million barrels, extending a stretch of steady draws that has pushed stocks to 6% below the five-year average heading into the tail end of summer demand season.

Taken together, the data point to a crude market where trade flows are contracting on both ends, likely a symptom of the Hormuz-related disruptions still working through global supply chains, while gasoline continues to draw down faster than the broader crude balance would suggest is comfortable.

Written by: Farid Muzaffar