B.I.G. Drowning in Crude

This week’s inventory report from the department of Energy showed a huge increase of 5.007 million barrels of crude oil versus expectations for a build of 1 million barrels. Gasoline inventories, on the other hand were down 4.387million barrels versus expectations for a build of 625 thousand barrels. Finally, distillate inventories were down 1.613 million barrels, which was slightly more than the forecast for a draw of 1.5 million barrels.

Below we highlight the weekly stockpiles of crude oil, gasoline, and distillates so far this year and compare them to their historical average. As shown in the charts, while stockpiles have been above average all year for all three, distillates and gasoline have been following their typical seasonal patterns. Crude oil, however, is a different story. As shown, not only have inventory levels of crude been above average all year, but they haven’t been following the seasonal script either. While they should have been declining over the last several months, stockpiles have actually remained relatively unchanged. With today’s large build, crude oil stockpiles are now at their highest point of 2010, and at a higher point relative to the historical average than at any other point this year.

Let's go to the "Current Versus Average Charts"



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