US crude inventories build amid another massive reserve draw

Releases from Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPR) have contributed to accelerate US crude stockpile build-up.

Commercial US crude inventories grew by 5.46 million bbls in the week to 5 August, when they stood at 432.01 million bbls. This outweighed an estimate from the American Petroleum Institute (API) of a 2.2 million-bbl build, and ran counter to analyst expectations of a 200,000-bbl drop, according to a Reuters poll.

Over the same period, SPRs were drawn by 5.30 million bbls to 464.56 million bbls.

Meanwhile, imports averaged 6.2 million b/d, about 1.2 million b/d lower on week.

US gasoline demand slowed to 8.6 million b/d, which was around 9% lower on the year and nearly 1 million b/d lower than pre-Covid times. Refinery utilisation rates recovered from a two-week slip to 91-92%, to more than 94% in the most recent week.