US Crude Stocks Fall, Gasoline Surges

US crude oil inventories fell by 2.144 million barrels in the week ending December 31st, a sixth consecutive period of declines and compared with market forecasts of a 3.283 million drop, data from the EIA Petroleum Status Report showed on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, gasoline inventories surged by 10.128 million barrels, the most since April 2020 and much more than market expectations of a 1.775 million increase, raising concerns of declining demand in the world’s biggest consumer amid a surge in Covid cases caused by the fast-spreading omicron variant.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 2.6 million barrels in the last week, EIA said.

Refinery crude runs rose by 164,000 barrels per day in the last week, EIA said. Refinery utilization rates rose by 0.1 percentage points in the week. Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 500,000 barrels per day, EIA said.