Oil & Gas - Energy - Commodities - Resources (OILBRENT)

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EIA data show weekly U.S. crude supplies down 1.1 million barrels
By: MarketWatch | December 18, 2019

Oil futures struggled to stretch their streak of gains to a 5th session in a row, with U.S. prices seesawing as U.S. government data revealed a weekly decline in domestic crude supplies that was smaller than the market expected.

The supply “had a somewhat muted reaction in the markets,” said Marshall Steeves, energy markets analyst at IHS Markit. The crude draw likely “came with the decline in imports because production was unchanged and refinery inputs fell slightly.”

West Texas Intermediate crude for January delivery CLF20, -0.10% rose 8 cents, or 0.1%, to $61.02 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, but wavered between modest gains and losses. The January contract expires at Thursday’s settlement. Global benchmark February Brent crude BRNG20, +0.02% tacked on 16 cents, or 0.2%, to $66.26 a barrel on ICE Futures Europe.

Both benchmarks on Tuesday logged their fourth straight gain, lifting prices to a three-month high in the wake of a so-called phase-one trade deal between the U.S. and China announced at the end of last week.

On Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported that U.S. crude supplies fell by 1.1 million barrels for the week ended Dec. 13.

That was less than the 2.5 million-barrel average decline expected by analysts polled by S&P Global Platts. The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday reported a 4.7 million-barrel climb.

The EIA data also revealed supply increases of 2.5 million barrels for gasoline and 1.5 million barrels for distillates. The S&P Global Platts survey had shown expectations for supply climbs of 2.4 million barrels for gasoline and 600,000 barrels for distillates.

Motor gasoline product supplied over the past four weeks averaged 9.1 million barrels per day, up by 0.5% from the same period last year, the EIA reported.

“It looks like [gasoline] demand bounced back,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at Price Futures Group. “Refinery runs bounced back as well, which may signal bigger crude-supply draws in the future.

On Nymex, January gasoline RBF20, -0.55% fell 0.6% to $1.6762 a gallon, while January heating oil HOF20, -0.73% was off 0.6% at $2.0205 a gallon.

January natural gas NGF20, -1.68% declined 2.3% to $2.265 per million British thermal units ahead of the EIA’s update on U.S. supplies of the fuel. Analysts expect government data to reveal a weekly inventory decline of 93 billion cubic feet, according to a survey conducted by S&P Global Platts.

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