The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a 3.1 million-barrel drop in commercial crude stocks, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, below an industry estimate for the week ended Oct. 16.
Inventories stood at 412.5 million barrels after the decline. The American Petroleum Institute (API), an industry trade association, had estimated a 4.93 million-barrel crude draw. That was smaller than its prior estimate of an 11.12 million-barrel decline.
The EIA reported an 8.6 million-barrel drop to 415.6 million barrels for the week ended Oct. 9, a figure noted in our earlier oil-price coverage.
At Cushing, Oklahoma, EIA data showed crude holdings rose 987,000 barrels to 27.6 million barrels. API estimated a 900,000-barrel increase there. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures use Cushing as their delivery point.
The two estimates pointed in opposite directions for distillates: API projected a 2.6 million-barrel decrease, while EIA reported a 1.7 million-barrel increase to 104.3 million barrels. Differences in coverage and estimation methods can produce different weekly readings.
API’s next bulletin is scheduled for Oct. 27, followed by EIA’s regular weekly report on Oct. 28.
