U.S. oil price climbs to highest since mid-April on sharp draw in inventories

Crude oil futures rose Wednesday after a larger than expected decline in U.S. inventories, in thin trading ahead of the U.S. Independence Day holiday.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s weekly report showed across-the-board draws in crude and refined product inventories, with crude stocks falling by an unexpectedly large 12.2M barrels, gasoline inventories down by 2.2M barrels, and distillate supplies dropping by 1.5M barrels.

Crude supplies are 4% below seasonal averages, gasoline inventories are 1% lower than average levels, and distillate stocks are 10% below normal for this time of year.

EIA also reported gains in implied gasoline and distillate demand, as gasoline products supplied increased nearly 500K bbl/day to 9.424M bbl/day and distillates rose nearly 200K to 3.715M bbl/day.

“Strong exports, a slight drop in imports and a rebound in refinery runs colluded to draw crude inventories by a whopping 12 million barrels,” Kpler analyst Matt Smith said in response to the data, according to Reuters.

Strong demand data also is expected next week, as today marks the beginning of the extended holiday weekend, with AAA forecasting a record 60.6M auto travelers.

Front-month Nymex crude (CL1:COM) for August delivery ended +1.3% to $83.88/bbl, its highest settlement value since April 16, and front-month September Brent crude (CO1:COM) also closed +1.3% to $87.34/bbl, best since April 30.

Meanwhile, front-month August Nymex natural gas (NG1:COM) fell for the seventh straight session, -0.7% to $2.418/MMBtu, its lowest settlement value since May 15.

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Supplies of oil also have tightened: “Already in June, OPEC+ exports are sharply lower, led by the Gulf countries and Iraq, in part due to summer crude burn amid the ongoing heatwave in the Middle East,” Energy Aspects said, referring to higher demand for power due to greater air conditioning usage.

But the threat of Hurricane Beryl appears to have eased, with recent forecasts showing the storm missing most offshore drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico based on its current projected path.