U.S. crude oil supplies decreased by 4.7 million barrels (1.3%) for the week ending Dec. 20, according to an Energy Information Administration report (link opens a pdf) released today.
After supplies dropped 0.8% the previous week, this report marks the fourth straight week of draws. Demand continues to head higher as refineries operated at a 92.7% capacity utilization rate, while inventories were down 0.9% in the past 12 months.
Gasoline inventories fell by 0.6 million barrels (0.3%) after increasing by 1.3 million barrels the week before. Demand for motor gasoline over the last four-week period is up a seasonally adjusted 3.9% over the same period last year. In the last year, supplies have dropped 1.4%.
Distillates supplies, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.9 million barrels (1.6%) for the second week of decreases. Distillates demand for the last four weeks is up a seasonally adjusted 1.0% over the same period a year ago. In the past year, distillates inventories have dropped 4.4%.
