NEW YORK – U.S. Energy Information Administration data released this morning showed distillate stocks, fell by only 200,000 barrels last week due largely to a smaller-than-expected draw on supplies as relatively warm weather capped consumer demand for heating fuel. Stocks grew in spite of recent output cuts by several U.S. refiners and a reduction in U.S. crude imports.
The nation's refineries have slowed by 5.4 percentage points in the past two weeks, dropping to just 86.8 percent in the week ended Jan. 25, the EIA said in its weekly supply report. ``With relatively high product inventories and low refinery margins, crude oil inputs could stay at or near this (low) level in upcoming weeks,'' said an EIA analysis of the weekly data. Analysts said distillate stockpiles should typically decline by 2 million barrels per week at this time of year.
Qatari Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah today said it was too early to talk of any further production cuts at the next meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in March. Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh also saw little reason for the cartel to tighten the taps in March.
The EIA figures also showed a large build in gasoline stocks, pushing down petroleum futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange this morning. March NYMEX crude was down 68 cents to $18.90 a barrel in early trading.
Crude stocks built 2.1 million barrels last week as big refiners such as Valero and Marathon reduced runs to battle weak demand and poor margins. On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute showed crude supplies some 32.2 million barrels, or 11
percent, above last year -- the biggest yearly surplus since August 1998.
API said gasoline stocks jumped another 2.7 million barrels to 216.1 million, even though the U.S. refinery network was working at just 85 percent of capacity. The EIA reported a matching 2.6 million barrel gasoline build, boosted by a 120,000 barrels per day (bpd) rise in gasoline imports as supplies flowed in from Europe.
Gasoline supplies are full enough that even refinery cutbacks are unlikely to have much immediate impact, analysts said.
