EIA DATA: Distillate stocks build to 9-mth high as demand wanes

Quantum Commodity Intelligence - US distillate fuel stocks build for a fourth straight week as early December demand tumbled to pandemic levels while refining output stuck close to 2022 highs, EIA data showed on Wednesday.

Inventories rose by 6.16 million barrels in the week to December 2 – its sharpest weekly build in nearly two years – to reach 118.81 million barrels, a level not seen since before the start of the war in Ukraine.

Stocks have now risen by 12.5 million barrels over the past four weeks, narrowing the gap to 2019 levels to just -3.9% (or 4.8m bbls) from as wide as -20% over the summer month and at its closest since the start of the year.

The rise came as refining throughput was mostly flat on the week at 16.6 million bpd, sticking close to its July high, with utilization rates pushed to 95.5% as some refineries went offline.

Refineries continued to favour distillates over light ends, with output rising to its highest since mid-July at 5.33 million bpd.

At the same time, deliveries fell for a fifth straight week to 3.55 million bpd, 12% below the 2015-2019 average, and raising fears that high energy prices are slowing economic activity.

Demand fell back to levels last seen during the pandemic year of 2020 when Covid restrictions kept a lid on economic growth.

Meanwhile, net distillate exports also slowed to a six-week low of 902,000 bpd, as imports picked up to 372,000 bpd, while exports slowed from last week's highs.

Jet

Jet fuel inventories rose by 1.71 million barrels, taking back all of the prior week's losses, and rising to a three-month high of 37.97 million barrels, up 3.4% on the year.

Deliveries fell a sharp 20% on the week to 1.39 million bpd, up 14% on the year, but down 12% to 2019 levels as travel slowed between Thanksgiving and the end-of-year festive season.

Output ticked higher to 1.71 million bpd, in line with the rest of the middle distillates, while net exports slowed to 78,000 bpd.

Week ending 02 December 2022

Key stock figures (million barrels)

Commercial crude and product stocks: 1604 m barrels, +3.8 m barrels on week.

Commercial crude stocks: 414 m barrels, -5.2 m barrels on week.

Strategic crude stocks: 387 m barrels, -2.1 m barrels on week.

Gasoline stocks: 219 m barrels, +5.3 m barrels on week.

Middle distillate stocks: 119 m barrels, +6.2 m barrels on week.

Jet stocks: 38 m barrels, +1.7 m barrels on week.

Diesel stocks: 108 m barrels, +6.8 m barrels on week.

Residual fuel stocks: 29 m barrels, -0.6 m barrels on week.

Propane/propylene stocks: 90 m barrels, -1.0 m barrels on week.

Ethanol stocks: 23 m barrels, +0.3 m barrels on week.

Key demand figures (million barrels per day)

Total oil products: 19.6 million bpd, -0.09 million bpd on week.

Gasoline: 8.4 million bpd, +0.04 million bpd on week.

Jet: 1.4 million bpd, -0.34 million bpd on week.

Middle distillates: 3.6 million bpd, -0.11 million bpd on week.

Residual fuels: 0.4 million bpd, +0.15 million bpd on week.

Propane/propylene: 1.3 million bpd, +0.38 million bpd on week.

Key production and trade figures (million barrels per day)

Crude production: 12.2 million bpd, +0.1 million bpd on week.

Crude imports: 6.0 million bpd, -0.02 million bpd on week.

Crude exports: 3.4 million bpd, -1.52 million bpd on week.

Product imports: 2.3 million bpd, +0.41 million bpd on week.

Product exports: 6.3 million bpd, -0.53 million bpd on week.