US crude oil inventories fell slightly, but gasoline and middle distillate stockpiles rose. Oil prices initially surged on optimism from China's economic growth plans, but are expected to adjust after the EIA report.
Crude oil prices edged down today following a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showing a 1.2 million barrel decline in crude inventory for the final week of 2024. However, gasoline and middle distillate stockpiles increased significantly. The crude inventory change contrasted with a 4.2 million barrel draw for the previous week, when the authority also reported a build in gasoline inventories and a draw in middle distillate stocks.
For the final week of the year, the EIA estimated a 7.7 million barrel gasoline inventory build with production averaging 9 million barrels daily. This compared with a build of 1.6 million barrels for the previous week, when production averaged 9.9 million barrels daily. Middle distillates saw an estimated 6.4 million barrel inventory build for the last week of 2024, with production at 5.4 million barrels daily. These figures contrasted with a 1.7 million barrel inventory drop for the previous week, when production averaged 5.3 million barrels daily. Meanwhile, oil prices rose today, the first trading session of the new year, following a statement by China's president pledging increased government efforts to stimulate economic growth. The commitment was widely viewed as positive for oil demand. Brent crude was trading at $76.35 per barrel at the time of writing, with West Texas Intermediate at $73.50 per barrel, both up but likely to reverse direction after the release of the EIA inventory report. Earlier in the week, the EIA issued another bullish signal for oil traders, reporting that US crude oil demand reached its highest level since the pandemic in October, hitting 21.01 million barrels daily. This contradicted expectations that the world's largest crude consumer was curbing its fuel consumption
Crude Oil OIL PRICES EIA ENERGY INVENTORY CHINA ECONOMY
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