Ahead of today's API inventory data and official EIA data to be released on Wednesday, a Wall Street Journal survey shows analysts and traders expecting another drop in U.S. crude oil stockpiles for the week ended April 29th.
Analysts and traders surveyed by WSJ anticipate a 200,000 fall in U.S. oil inventories and a 300,000 barrel drop in gasoline stockpiles.
Of the 11 analysts surveyed by WSJ, seven are predicting a decrease and four, an increase in crude oil inventories.
They also expect distillates to record a decrease of up to 1.5 million barrels.
Among the distillates, diesel has been in keen focus in recent days.
On Tuesday, diesel hit a record $5.37 per gallon, making it significantly more expensive than gasoline, which is now at a national average price per gallon of $4.204, according to AAA.
Soaring diesel prices are being blamed for inflation that is bumping up the price of consumer goods. Compounding the shortage, record volumes of diesel and gasoline are being exported from the U.S. Gulf Coast, with BNN Bloomberg reporting Monday that up to 2.09 bpd of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel had shipped out last month-this highest volume on record.
Since July 2020, U.S. oil inventories have declined by 421 million barrels since July 2020, and fuel inventories are below average for this time of year.
Crude oil prices remain fairly bullish on Tuesday, though sliding to just above $106 from $108 in Monday trading. China's Covid lockdowns continued to exert downward pressure on benchmarks, but upside potential is seen in the European Union's progress towards a Russian oil ban, sentiments of Russia's declining oil production and the U.S. inventory picture.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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