WTI prices dumped on last night's surprise crude build but have limped back above $49 heading into the DOE prints this morning (although Russia sanctions headlines dipped it). DOE did not help as the report was a disappointment for the bulls with production rising to a new cycle high, crude inventories drawing less than expected but total U.S. oil inventories (that's crude plus all products, including the often volatile "other oil" category) rose by 1.1 million barrels last week.
API
- Crude +1.78mm (-3.1mm exp)
- Cushing +2.562mm (-700k exp)
- Gasoline -4.827mm (-1mm exp)
- Distillates -1.225mm
DOE
- Crude -1.53mm (-3.1mm exp)
- Cushing -39k (-700k exp)
- Gasoline -2.52mm (-1mm exp)
- Distillates -150k
API's surprise crude build was offset by DOE's draw – but it was a disappointingly small draw… and gasoline's draw was smaller than API's…
Gaoline demand rose to a new record high 9.84mm b/d.
Crude Production (in the Lower 48) topped 9mm last week for the first time since July 2015, and this week it rose once again to a new cycle high…
WTI bounced back from the API surprise plunge but dropped into the DOE print on Russia sanctions headlines… and then extended its losses – back to API lows – on the production surge and total inventoiry build…
Nitesh Shah, a commodities strategist at ETF Securities told Bloomberg: “The headlines from Saudi Arabia’s export cuts a few days ago pushed prices over $50 but when you scratch under the surface there’s still a lot of bearishness out there.”
via http://ift.tt/2uYCYyK Tyler Durden