Significant Drop in US Crude Inventories

In a recent update by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), it was revealed that the United States has seen a decrease in its commercial crude oil inventories by 1.2 million barrels, bringing the total down to 415.6 million barrels for the week ending December 27. This figure excludes the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), highlighting a notable shift in the country's oil reserves.

Refinery Operations and Production Insights

Crude oil refinery inputs experienced a slight increase, averaging 16.9 million barrels per day (bpd), up by 41,000 bpd from the previous week. Refineries were operating at 92.7% of their operable capacity. Interestingly, while gasoline production saw a decrease, averaging 9.0 million bpd, distillate fuel production rose to an average of 5.4 million bpd.

Import and Inventory Trends

On the import front, crude oil imports surged by 455,000 bpd, reaching an average of 6.9 million bpd. Contrary to the decrease in crude inventories, total commercial petroleum inventories saw an increase of 9.3 million barrels, indicating a complex dynamic in the US petroleum landscape.