US crude stocks drop as refinery utilisation hits five-month high

The front-month ICE Brent crude future declined by $0.28/bbl in the first 20 minutes after the 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 inventories declined by 1.28 million bbls on the week, to 459.63 million bbls on 28 April, according to the EIA's latest figures released today. The crude stocks have been drawn to 12-week lows.

The weekly stock draw fell short of the 3.93 million-bbl draw estimated by the American Petroleum Institute (API) yesterday.

Overall US refinery utilisation averaged 91% in April – the highest since last November.

Gasoline stocks gained by 1.74 million bbls on the week, to 222.88 million bbls. That was still lower than the recent peak levels of 244 million bbls seen in March.  

Distillate stocks, which include diesel and gasoil, declined for a fifth consecutive week and headed down to their lowest level since last November.

By Nithin Chandran

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