The Commodities Feed: US crude oil inventories drop
The oil market edged higher yesterday, though the move was fairly modest when you consider the large draws seen in US crude oil inventories along with growing supply risks in West Africa.
Energy - Large US crude draw
The latest EIA numbers show that US commercial crude oil inventories fell by 10.58MMbbls over the last week, which leaves total crude oil inventories at 422.94MMbbls - the lowest level since December 2022. Crude oil inventories at Cushing also saw further declines, falling by 1.5MMbbls, which takes crude oil stocks at the WTI delivery hub to below 30MMbbls and to a level last seen in January. Lower imports and higher exports were largely behind the large draw. As for refined products, gasoline inventories fell by 214Mbbls over the week, whilst distillate fuel oil stocks increased by 1.24MMbbls. This build was despite refiners reducing their run rates over the course of the week. Gasoline demand was stronger over the week, with implied demand increasing by 158Mbbls/d WoW, taking it back above 9MMbbls/d. This might be short-lived, with hurricane activity in Florida this week possibly weighing on demand.
Elsewhere, there are growing supply risks after a military coup in Gabon. The West African country is an OPEC member and produces around 200Mbbls/d. While the volumes are relatively small, clearly any disruption in what is already a tight market does not help. However, up until now, there have been no reports of disruptions to the oil supply.
In the coming days, the market should receive more clarity on what Saudi Arabia will do with its additional voluntary cut of 1MMbbls/d. This cut was first implemented in July for a month, but the Saudis have rolled it over a couple of times already. Our expectation is that Saudi Arabia will extend this cut through into October. There are clearly still some broader demand concerns and returning this supply to the market could see Brent back below US$80/bbl - something the Saudis would prefer not to see.
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