surprise rise in oil stocks

Oil stocks recorded a surprise increase last week, according to information published Wednesday, November 20 by the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA). Commercial crude reserves increased by 500,000 barrels in the week ended November 15, while analysts expected a slight decline of 85,000 barrels.

This increase is, in part, linked to the slowdown of refineries, which only used their installations at 90.2% of their capacities, compared to 91.4% the previous week. Another explanatory factor is a further acceleration in imports (+18% over one week), which reached a level last week that they had not seen for five and a half months.

Exports also increased (+27%), but not as much, in volume, as imports. The week saw a clear decline in the volumes of refined products delivered to the market (-8%), a figure considered as an implicit indicator of demand. Gasoline, in particular, showed signs of weakness (-10%), as did the propane/propylene category, which includes derived products intended for industry.

The EIA report also highlighted a surprise contraction in crude production, falling to 13.2 million barrels per day, compared to 13.4 in the previous period. This is the most modest production in two months, while the market is worried about the too high level of global supply compared to demand, particularly in China. After the publication, prices recorded a very brief drop, before recovering. Around 4:20 p.m. GMT, a barrel of American West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in December was up slightly by 0.37%, to $69.65.