FX.co ★ US Crude Inventories Fall Sharply

U.S. crude oil inventories, excluding those within the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, experienced a significant decrease of 1.934 million barrels in the week ending December 26. This marks the most substantial weekly reduction since mid-November and surpasses market expectations of a 0.9 million-barrel drop. Despite this reduction, commercial crude stocks concluded the year at 423 million barrels, a figure comfortably higher than the historical average, indicative of a globally oversupplied market. This occurs even in light of the Venezuelan tankers blockade and sanctions imposed on major Russian producers and blenders. Concurrently, gasoline stocks underwent a substantial increase of 5.845 million barrels, vastly outpacing the projected rise of 1.9 million. Distillate inventories also saw a notable ascent, increasing by 4.977 million barrels, exceeding the anticipated 2.2 million-barrel growth. These figures underscore persistent oversupply pressures in the refined products sector.