US crude stocks drop as imports hit 4-1/2-year low, EIA says

By Georgina McCartney and Liz Hampton

HOUSTON/DENVER, Oct 29 - U.S. oil stocks fell last week after crude imports dwindled to their lowest level since February 2021, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories dropped by 6.86 million barrels to 416 million barrels in the week ended October 24, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 211,000-barrel fall.

Global and U.S. crude oil futures extended gains after the data showed larger-than-expected draws of crude and products. Brent crude futures LCOc1 were up 80 cents, or 1.24%, to $65.20 a barrel at 11:20 a.m. EDT (1520 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 gained 71 cents, or 1.18%, to $60.86.

“It’s pretty bullish. Where’s the glut? The negativity about demand and concerns about the glut of supply, it hasn’t shown up,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst with Price Futures Group.

Crude imports excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell last week by 867,000 barrels per day to 5.05 million bpd, the EIA said.

Crude imports to the U.S. Gulf Coast, home to around half of total U.S. refining capacity, hit a record low, falling 477,000 bpd to 597,000 bpd.

"The consensus that there is an oil glut continues to be absent in onshore inventory data," said Josh Young, chief investment officer at Bison Interests.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI rose by 1.33 million barrels, the EIA said.

Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI dropped by 511,000 barrels per day, while utilization rates USOIRU=ECI fell by 2 percentage points to 86.6%.

U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI dropped by 5.94 million barrels in the week to 210.7 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.9-million-barrel draw.​

Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 3.36 million barrels to 112.2 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.74 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

U.S. gasoline and ultra-low sulfur diesel futures extended gains after the data.

Total product supplied, a proxy for demand, rose to 21.28 million bpd last week from 20.01 million bpd a week earlier.

Gasoline demand climbed last week to 8.92 million bpd from 8.46 million bpd.

"U.S. demand is more robust than expected," Young said.