US DATA: API reports drops in crude, gasoline inventories

Quantum Commodity Intelligence – US crude oil inventories posted a modest drop for the week ending 15 March, while gasoline also registered falls, according to a report released late Tuesday by the industry-backed American Petroleum Institute (API).

The latest API numbers revealed an unexpected crude draw of 1.519 million barrels, compared to forecasts for a slim build. However, this was only the second fall reported since late January, having added around 25 million barrels in the interim, according to API calculations.

The key Cushing storage hub, the delivery point for the NYMEX WTI futures contract, added 325,000 barrels. In the previous week stocks at the Oklahoma hub had fallen almost 1 million barrels, the first drop in over a month after a five-week build added around 4 million barrels.

Inventories at Cushing tumbled during January, with stockpiles dropping from around 35 million barrels at the start of the year to the 28-million-barrel mark before rebounding throughout February.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve added 700,000 barrels as the low-scale buyback program continued after the Department of Energy released 180 million barrels from the SPR in 2022. Restocking was limited to around 3 million barrels per month after the DOE said logistics would limit throughputs.

However, the completion of maintenance on one of the four SPR sites is expected to see monthly volumes pick up slightly.

Meanwhile, gasoline stockpiles dropped another 1.574 million barrels, although distillates added 512,000 barrels for an overall net oil drop of 2.581 million barrels.

The 3-2-1 crack spread, a measure of US refining profitability against gasoline and heating oil margins, was holding at around $31.50/b based on Apr24 futures contracts early Wednesday, having improved during the first half of March.