for the week ended Feb. 27, the Energy Information Administration reported.
1) U.S. crude inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 700,000 barrels
2) gasoline inventories rose by 200,000 barrels, and distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose 1.7 million barrels.
3) motor gasoline demand has averaged 9 million barrels per day, up by 2.2% from the same period last year.
4) total products supplied over the past four-week period have averaged 19.5 million barrels per day, down by 1.3% compared with the similar period last year
5) Inventories at Cushing, Okla., the delivery point for Nymex crude futures, fell for a third straight week from their record high, down 500,000 barrels to 34 million.
The EIA also reported Analysts surveyed by Platts had expected a decline of 600,000 barrels in gasoline inventories and a drop of 1.5 million barrels in distillate stocks.
The Washington-based API, a trade association of the oil and natural gas industry, calculates inventories based on criteria different from those used by the EIA.
On the Nymex Wednesday, April reformulated gasoline rose 3.3% to $1.3641 a gallon, and April heating oil gained 3% to $1.2145 a gallon. April natural-gas futures fell 2.9% to $4.157 per million British thermal units.
Quote from InvestVision:
US oil stocks slip on imports, higher runs - API Tue Mar 3, 2009 9:44pm GMT
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http://uk.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idUKN0360274820090303
NEW YORK, March 3 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil stockpiles dipped 463,000 barrels last week amid lower import levels and higher demand from refiners, the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday.
The report countered analyst expectations for a crude oil inventory build of 1.2 million barrels. [EIA/S]
The API report also showed gasoline stockpiles down 642,000 barrels in the week ended Feb. 27 versus expectations of an 800,000-barrel drop, and distillate stockpiles up 1.6 million barrels versus expectations of a 700,000-barrel drop.
"For the most part the report is neutral, maybe slightly supportive on crude," said Tom Bentz, analyst at BNP Paribas Commodity Futures Inc in New York.
The crude oil draw came as imports slipped 265,000 barrels per day and crude runs at domestic refineries rose 286,000 barrels per day, the API said.
The API report comes a day ahead of a separate set of figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which many energy analysts consider more reliable. (Reporting by Richard Valdmanis)
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@investvision note: 1.2 million barrels build is Bloomberg average estimate of analysts . MCgraw-hill estimate this time is 2.2 mil , it seems Mcgraw-hill estimate is not as closes as Bloomberg even for the week of 2/13
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12400801/
Traders awaited Wednesdayâs release of crude inventory data by the Energy Information Administration.
Analysts are looking for
- oil stocks to rise by 2.2 million barrels, and
- gasoline stocks to fall by 600,000 barrels
according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
Markets watch inventory levels closely for signs of rising or falling demand. Oil prices rose for two consecutive days last week when the build up in crude inventories was less than expected.
But prices began to fall on Friday and then plunged Monday. Crude is still trading about $4 below Mondayâs open.
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Traders are also awaiting government reports later this week on employment levels, which have in recent months sent oil prices plunging further.
The nation has lost 3.6 million jobs since the recession started, including 598,000 jobs in January alone, the most since 1974. The jobless rate surged to 7.6 percent in January, and economists and government officials all agreed the toll is certain to go higher.
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