Commercial stockpiles drop by 1.6 million barrels, SPR rises, and Cushing’s tightening supply

  • Commercial crude oil stockpiles excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 1.6 million barrels in the week ended Sept. 13
  • Crude oil inventories were about 4% below the five-year average for the time of year
  • Production and imports decreased, while gasoline and distillate fuel stocks increased
  • Oil stored at Cushing, Okla., dropped by 2 million barrels to 22.7 million barrels
  • WTI crude futures recovered after the report’s release
  • Crude exports increased by 1.3 million barrels a day to 4.6 million barrels a day
  • Refinery capacity use decreased by 0.7 of a percentage point at 92.1%
  • Gasoline and distillate fuel stocks also saw slight increases

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a decline in commercial crude oil inventories last week due to lower production and imports. Excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, stockpiles fell by 1.6 million barrels to 417.5 million barrels, which is about 4% below the five-year average. Oil stored at Cushing, Okla., dropped by 2 million barrels to 22.7 million barrels. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures recovered after the report’s release, as the market awaited the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision and comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Crude production fell by 100,000 barrels a day to 13.2 million barrels a day, while imports dropped by 545,000 barrels a day to 6.3 million barrels a day. Hurricane Francine’s passage led to some Gulf of Mexico production shut-ins. Crude exports increased by 1.3 million barrels a day to 4.6 million barrels a day. Refinery capacity use decreased by 0.7 of a percentage point at 92.1%. Gasoline and distillate fuel stocks also saw slight increases, with gasoline stockpiles up by 69,000 barrels to 221.6 million barrels and distillate fuels rising by 125,000 barrels to 125.1 million barrels.

Factuality Level: 9
Factuality Justification: The article provides accurate and objective information about the changes in U.S. crude oil inventories, production, imports, and refinery capacity use based on data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. It also includes expert opinions and market reactions to the reported changes. The information is relevant and focused on the main topic without any significant digressions or personal perspectives presented as facts.
Noise Level: 6
Noise Justification: The article provides relevant information about the changes in U.S. crude oil inventories and related factors such as production, imports, and demand. However, it contains some filler content like the mention of Hurricane Francine and an advertisement request at the end, which makes it slightly less informative.
Public Companies: New York Mercantile Exchange (N/A), U.S. Energy Information Administration (N/A), The Wall Street Journal (N/A)
Private Companies: Price Futures Group
Key People: Phil Flynn (Senior Market Analyst), Jerome Powell (Fed Chair), Anthony Harrup (Writer)

Financial Relevance: Yes
Financial Markets Impacted: U.S. crude oil inventories, WTI futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange
Financial Rating Justification: The article discusses changes in U.S. commercial crude oil stocks and their impact on the financial markets, specifically West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Presence Of Extreme Event: No
Nature Of Extreme Event: Other
Impact Rating Of The Extreme Event: Minor
Extreme Rating Justification: There is no extreme event mentioned in the article, but the passage of Hurricane Francine had a minor impact on Gulf of Mexico production.
Move Size: The market move size mentioned in the article is a decrease of 1.6 million barrels in U.S. crude oil inventories, which is about 4% below the five-year average for the time of year.
Sector: Energy
Direction: Up
Magnitude: Medium
Affected Instruments: Stocks

Reported publicly: www.wsj.com