By The latest report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed significant growth in refined product stocks, causing crude and refined product futures to maintain their current levels.
Stock Increase
According to the EIA, gasoline stocks in the U.S. surged by 8 million barrels in the week ending Friday, while distillate holdings saw an increase of 6.5 million barrels. Crude stocks also experienced a rise of 1.3 million barrels, following a notable decrease the week prior.
Futures Market
As of 12:10 p.m. ET, the NYMEX February West Texas Intermediate contract remained steady, trading at $72.25/bbl. Similarly, the March contract saw a slight increase, reaching $72.30/bbl. However, the London-based March ICE Brent crude contract weakened by 10 cents to settle at $77.50/bbl, with April Brent dropping by 15 cents to $77.10/bbl.
Performance of Distillate Futures
Distillate futures did not perform as well as gasoline contracts. The NYMEX February ULSD contract decreased by 2.70 cents, settling at $2.6225/gallon, while March ULSD dropped by 2.6 cents to reach $2.5745/gallon.
Outlook
Despite the winter storm causing power outages for half a million homes and businesses along the U.S. East Coast, leading to a potential decrease in gasoline demand in the short-term, the EIA’s January Short-Term Energy Outlook predicts that U.S. crude oil production will continue to set new records throughout this year and 2025. However, there were no changes made to the December forecast for U.S. petroleum and liquid fuel demand in 2022 and 2023.
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