US crude oil inventories for the week ended Jan. 18, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, increased by 8 million bbl from the previous week, data from the US Energy Information Administration showed.
EIA released the Weekly Petroleum Status Report a day later than usual because of the closure of the federal government on Jan. 21 for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
At 445 million bbl, US crude oil inventories are about 9% above the 5-year average for this time of year, the report indicated.
EIA said total motor gasoline inventories increased by 4.1 million bbl and are about 6% above the 5-year range. Finished gasoline inventories and blending components inventories both increased last week. Distillate fuel inventories decreased by 600,000 bbl and are about 2% below the 5-year average for this time of year.
Propane-propylene inventories decreased by 3.7 million bbl last week and are about 2% above the 5-year average for this time of year, EIA said.
US refinery inputs averaged 17 million b/d for the week ended Jan. 18, about 174,000 b/d less than the previous week’s average. Refineries operated at 92.9% of capacity.
Gasoline production increased, averaging 9.6 million b/d. Distillate fuel production decreased, averaging 5.2 million b/d.
US crude oil imports averaged 8.2 million b/d, up by 664,000 b/d from the previous week. Over the last 4 weeks, crude oil imports averaged 7.7 million b/d, 2.1% less than the same period last year. Total motor gasoline imports averaged 561,000 b/d. Distillate fuel imports averaged 355,000 b/d.