Oil Prices Continue To Fall As EIA Reports Crude Inventory Build

• Gasoline inventories shed 3.6 million barrels in the week to March 11.
• Middle distillate inventories rose by 300,000 barrels in the week to March 11.
• EIA: Crude oil inventories rose by 4.3 million barrels.

Crude oil prices moved lower today after the Energy Information Administration reported an inventory build of 4.3 million barrels for the week to March 11.

This compared with a draw of 1.9 million barrels for the previous week and an American Petroleum Institute estimate of an inventory build of 1.867 million barrels for the week to March 11.

In fuels, the Energy Information Administration reported a mixed picture.

Gasoline inventories shed 3.6 million barrels in the week to March 11, which compared with a decline of 1.4 million barrels for the previous week.

Gasoline production averaged 9.4 barrels daily last week, which compared with 9.6 million barrels daily a week earlier.

Middle distillate inventories rose by 300,000 barrels in the week to March 11, which compared with a decline of 5.2 million barrels for the previous week.

Middle distillate production averaged 4.9 million barrels daily, which compared with 4.6 million barrels daily a week earlier.

Middle distillate production globally has come into the spotlight recently due to the tightening supply of diesel fuel, which is adding to inflationary pressures by making freight transport costlier.

Refineries in the United States processed an average of 15.6 million barrels of crude daily in the week to March 11, which compared with 15.4 million bpd in the previous week. Imports stood at 6.4 million bpd, which compared with 6.3 million bpd a week earlier.

The average price for gasoline in the United States remains over $4.30 per gallon, with the price for diesel fuel at over $5.10.

International oil prices, meanwhile, have declined substantially from the multi-year highs reached earlier this month, mostly on the latest demand scare after China reported a spike in new Covid infections and locked down one of its biggest industrial hubs, Shenzhen.

At the time of writing, Brent crude was trading at close to $100.30 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate had slipped below $100, to $97.31 per barrel.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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