The U.S. Energy Information Administration released inventory data on Wednesday showing a continued downward trend in crude oil stockpiles. Commercial crude inventories fell by 3.1 million barrels for the week ending October 16, bringing total supplies to 412.5 million barrels. The current level represents a 3% decline relative to the five-year average for the comparable period, indicating tighter supply conditions in the market.
The EIA figures align with earlier data from the American Petroleum Institute, which had reported a steeper decline of 4.93 million barrels for the same reporting period. Crude futures markets showed modest movement following the release, with Brent crude trading relatively flat at $108.87 per barrel, representing a gain of $0.08 on the day. West Texas Intermediate futures declined slightly, trading at $97.69 per barrel on Wednesday morning, down $0.13 from the prior day’s close.
Gasoline inventories experienced a pullback after the previous week’s gains, falling by 3 million barrels while production averaged 9.8 million barrels daily. Middle distillate inventories increased by 1.7 million barrels with daily production reaching 5.2 million barrels, though distillate stockpiles remain 9% below the five-year average for this period. Total products supplied, which serves as a demand indicator, averaged 21.1 million barrels per day over the prior four weeks, reflecting a 3.2% increase from the comparable year-ago period.
Demand metrics showed mixed results across product categories. Gasoline consumption averaged 8.7 million barrels per day over the four-week window, while distillate demand averaged 3.9 million barrels daily, representing a 2.4% decline compared to the same timeframe the previous year.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI