April 15,2015
WTI oil climbed 5 percent today after the EIA said crude inventories rose only a little and gasoline inventories fell .As we go to press WTI oil futures climbed to $56, the first time in months it moved much higher than $50.
Here is the Gas Buddy Blog on the latest EIA report that suggests California gas prices may now rise.They have fallen to near $3 per gallon in California in the past month.
CRUDE INVENTORIES:
Crude oil inventories increased by 1.3 million barrels (mb) to a total of 483.7 million barrels. At 483.7 million barrels, inventories are 89.6 million barrels above last year (22.7%) and are well above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year.
GASOLINE INVENTORIES:
Gasoline inventories decreased by 2.1 million barrels to 227.9 million barrels. At 227.9 million barrels, inventories are up 17.6 million barrels, or 8.4% higher than one year ago. Here’s how individual regions and their gasoline inventory fared last week: East Coast (-1.4mb); Midwest (+0.5mb); Gulf Coast (-0.8mb); Rockies (-0.2mb); and West Coast (-0.2mb). It is important to note which regions saw increases/decreases as this information likely drives prices up (in the case of falling inventories), or down (in the case of rising inventories).
DISTILLATE (diesel, heating oil) INVENTORIES:
Distillate inventories increased by 2.0 million barrels to a total of 128.9 million barrels. At 128.9 million barrels, inventories are up 17.0 million barrels, or 15.2% vs. a year ago.
IMPLIED DEMAND:
Gasoline supplied to end users amounted to 8.9 million barrels per day (mbpd), or 304,000 barrels per day higher than the previous week. So far in 2015, gasoline supplied is 3.4% higher versus 2014, according to the EIA.
REFINERY OUTPUT/UTILIZATION:
Refinery utilization increased by 2.2% vs. last week’s numbers to 92.3%. Gasoline production increased to 9.2 million barrels per day while distillate fuel production decreased slightly last week, averaging 5.0 million barrels per day.
Utilization rates for the last week were as follows: East Coast: 86.9%, Midwest: 96.3%, Gulf Coast: 92.8%, Rocky Mountain: 93.8%, West Coast: 87.6%. These percentages show how much of a region’s overall capacity were used to refine oil. It is important to note these percentages, because the lower the utilization percent, the lower output, which has a direct impact on local gasoline prices. If refiners in your region have low output, your more likely to see prices rise.