Brent gains despite bigger-than-expected US crude stock build

Front-month ICE Brent crude futures increased by $0.78/bbl in the half hour after official weekly figures from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) were released today.

PHOTO: Oil refinery complex with big American flag displayed, and fumes coming out from the chimney. Getty Images

Commercial US crude stocks swelled by 18.96 million bbls to 439.60 million bbls in the week ending 6 January, according to official Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. That was the biggest build since February 2021, and even higher than an earlier 14.9 million-bbl build estimate by the American Petroleum Institute (API).

Releases from Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs) declined to a multi-month low of 800,000 bbls in the week, leaving 371 million bbls in SPR storage.

US refinery utilisation increased by about five percentage points to 84.1%. Refinery utilisation was severely cut during unusually freezing temperatures around Christmas, and dipped below 80% after averaging above 90% earlier in December.

By Nithin Chandran

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