DOE CRUDE STATS
| August 18, 2010
Too Little Too Late?
Too little too late? Principal product apparent demand increased 340 kb/d on the week, driven by a 270 kb/d increase in distillate demand and a 220 kb/d increase in gasoline. The stats weren’t nearly as bearish as yesterday’s API numbers and this is the third-highest demand reading of the year. But the major products continue to exhibit weakness despite the sizable gains in apparent demand while inventories remain bloated and refiners continue to churn out product. Major data points: • .....
DOE CRUDE STATS
| August 11, 2010
More Bearish Numbers
DOE CRUDE STATS More bearish numbers This week’s apparent demand numbers were quite weak for both gasoline and distillate, but the details continue to paint an especially bearish picture of the gasoline market. Principal product demand fell -310 kb/d on the week primarily due to a -240 kb/d drop in apparent gasoline demand. Even though lower refinery output and lower imports reduced gasoline supply by 2.8m bbl on the week, gasoline inventories still managed to rise contra-seasonally. App.....
DOE CRUDE STATS
| August 04, 2010
Bearish numbers despite headline crude draw
DOE CRUDE STATS August 4, 2010 Bearish numbers despite headline crude draw US crude inventories may have drawn more than expected, but petroleum stocks continue to shift into finished product inventories, continuing a recent run of weak fundamental data. Total commercial petroleum inventories increased 6.1m bbl on the week and returned to an all-time record of 1.125 billion bbl, slightly higher than the previous peak one year ago. Major data points: Crude oil inventories: Drew by .....
DOE CRUDE STATS
| July 28, 2010
Crude build distracts from rampant gasoline output
DOE CRUDE STATS July 28, 2010 Crude build distracts from rampant gasoline output The 7.3m bbl crude build should dominate headlines (11.7m bbl east of the Rockies!) but it was likely an aberration due to the offloading of floating storage in GOM . Imports into PADD III jumped 1.73 mb/d to 7.2 mb/d while the region built a record 8.18m bbl. At 11.15 mb/d, total crude imports hit their third-highest weekly level ever. On the apparent demand front, mogas jumped 0.2 mb/d to a health.....
DOE CRUDE STATS
| July 14, 2010
Pulling out the rug on gasoline
DOE CRUDE STATS July 14, 2010 Pulling out the rug on gasoline There is a lot to digest in this week’s EIA report. Overall, the stats undermine gasoline prices (and should pressure the distillate market as well), indicating a bit of over-exuberance about the traditional peak of the US driving season. Major data points: Crude oil inventories: Drew by -5.06m bbl, vs. expectations of a -1.5m bbl draw, due to a 4.76m bbl draw in PADD III (Gulf Coast). Crude stocks have dropped 10.....
DOE CRUDE STATS
| July 08, 2010
Distillates bounce back
DOE CRUDE STATS July 8, 2010 Distillates bounce back Total US apparent demand more than recovered its losses from last week, increasing by 600 kb/d to 19.56 mb/d. But while last week’s losses were concentrated in Other Oils, distillate demand (+400 kb/d) drove an increase in apparent principal product demand. At 15.37 mb/d, principal product demand touched its highest point since Mar09. Major data points: Crude oil inventories: Drew by -4.96m bbl, vs. expectations of a -2m bbl dra.....
DOE CRUDE STATS
| June 30, 2010
Another gasoline rope-a-dope?
DOE CRUDE STATS June 30, 2010 Another gasoline rope-a-dope? Gasoline demand is showing its first glimmers of life since the spring. With US consumer expenditures reaching record highs, this could be a signal of spending finally filtering through to the gasoline market. But such proclamations were prevalent in the spring, when strong weekly data belied weak underlying fundamentals. And as yesterday’s DOE monthly data release for Apr10 reiterated, skeptics were correct to be wary of th.....
DOE CRUDE STATS
| June 23, 2010
Refiner restraint vs. weak gasoline demand
DOE CRUDE STATS June 23, 2010 Refiner restraint vs. weak gasoline demand This week’s stats continue to indicate very weak gasoline demand along with distillate demand that continues to reflect economic recovery. Refiners have responded to relatively stronger distillate margins by boosting distillate output while dialing back on gasoline production, somewhat mitigating the gasoline inventory glut. But in lending a modicum of support to gasoline prices, refiners are also undermining the .....
DOE CRUDE STATS
| June 16, 2010
Mixed signals for product markets
DOE CRUDE STATS June 16, 2010 Mixed signals for product markets In this week’s DOE stats, inventory numbers and apparent demand numbers seem to be whispering different messages to product markets. While the gasoline inventory surplus declined slightly, apparent demand numbers remain historically very weak. Meanwhile, commercial distillate storage continues to surge but apparent distillate demand remains well ahead of year-ago levels and even within shouting distance of pre-recession .....