United States crude stocks rise, gasoline inventories exceed expectations

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, increased 1 million barrels, versus expectations for a 417,000-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.

Crude Oil prices advanced 0.98% against the Dollars closing at 43.13, boosted by a less-than-expected rise in crude-oil inventories and a further decline in the number of USA oil rigs. This occurs as the spread (the 12-day moving average minus the 26-day moving average) crosses above the 9-day moving average of the spread.

On Wednesday, November 25, 2015, the U.S. Energy Information Administration published its weekly crude oil, distillate, and gasoline inventories report.

Gasoline stocks rose by 2.5 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 938,000 barrels gain. Distillate fuel inventories increased by 1.0 million barrels last week and are in the upper half of the average range for this time of year. Production of crude oil increased about 17 percent (rising from 7.4 to 8.7 million barrels per day), while US production of natural gas increased 6 percent (rising from approximately 73 to 77 billion cubic feet per day). The less-than-expected inventory increase led to the rise in crude oil prices. The STEO forecast of annual average US regular gasoline retail prices is $2.43/g in 2015 and $2.33/g in 2016, well below the $3.36/g price in 2014. Previous year at this time, a gallon of regular gasoline cost $2.812 on average in the United States. Spot prices of North Sea Brent oil fell to $44.75 per barrel (b) in the second week of November, $34/b lower than the $79/b average during November 2014.