Here are the latest details from the U.S. Energy Information Administration regarding diesel fuel, heating oil, gasoline and many more, for the week ending January 27th.
On Wednesday, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) prices declined sharply, nearly 3%, to $76.10, with the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reporting a large increase in crude oil, gasoline, and distillate inventories. This downward trend was further exacerbated by OPEC+ continuing their current output policy.
The U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 15 million barrels per day, which was 19 thousand barrels per day more than the previous week’s average, with refineries working at 85.7% of their capacity.
Gasoline production increased last week, averaging 9.4 million barrels/day. Distillate fuel production increased, averaging 4.7 million barrels per day. U.S. crude oil imports averaged 7.3 million barrels per day last week, 1.4 million barrels per day lower than the previous week, with imports averaging approx. 6.6 million barrels/day.
Related: Oil analysis and price predictions
U.S. commercial crude oil inventories increased by 4.1 million barrels from the previous week to 452.7 million barrels. Considering the figures, the inventories are about 4% above the five-year average for this time of year.
In January, oil prices experienced their third consecutive monthly decline, even with hopes that China's abandoning the COVID Zero policy will bring back the demand for crude, of which it is the biggest importer. Although the economy has started to pick up, weak sales from manufacturers and homebuyers imply that the recovery process is still uncertain.
The Federal Reserve decided to raise interest rates slightly less than expected during their afternoon meeting, with Chairman Jerome Powell mentioning that they have made progress in controlling inflation. This news was enough to help offset investors' losses in stock markets, yet it wasn't enough to boost oil prices.
Sources: eia.gov
