According to the Weekly Petroleum Status Report published today by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. crude oil inventories are 4% above the five year average for the same time of year.
The U.S. is adding 4.1 million barrels from the previous week and totaling 452.7 million barrels. This data excludes the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is 35% below last year and at its lowest level since March 1984.
On the other hand, total motor gasoline inventories, despite increasing 2.6 million barrels since last week, are 7% below the last five years.
In Distillate Fuel, inventories totaled 2.3 million barrels this week, and it is 17% below the average for this period in the last 5 years.
Total commercial oil inventories increased last week by 1.6 million barrels.
The Brent and WTI crude oil recovering ground
According to Bloomberg, Brent and WTI have been bolstered by positive comments on Chinese demand by the OPEC secretary general, which echoed Saudi Arabia's recent decision to raise prices to Asia.
Demand in China has shown some bright spots, aided by a jump in travel during the Lunar New Year holiday versus 2022, but still well below seasonal norms.
Gains from the reopening could help spur Brent and WTI prices, but we may still be months away from signs of a recovery, according to Fernando Valle, a Bloomberg Intelligence senior oil and gas analyst.
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