New York—Oil futures settled higher Dec. 30 on the heels of a larger-than-expected US inventory draw.
NYMEX February WTI settled 40 cents higher at $48.40/b, and ICE January Brent climbed 25 cents to settle at $51.34/b.US commercial crude oil inventories declined 6.06 million barrels to 493.47 million barrels during the week ended Dec. 25, US Energy Information Administration data showed Dec. 30. The draw comes as exports surged nearly 17% on the week to a 3.63 million b/d, the highest since the week ended March 20.
American Petroleum Institute released late Dec. 29 showed US crude inventories fell 4.8 million barrels last week, while analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts on Dec. 28 had called for a 3.8 million-barrel draw.
The draw marks a third consecutive week of falling crude stocks, but left inventories still ample at more than 10% above the five-year average.
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Crude flows to Asia continue to account for the majority of exports, with several cargoes seen going to China, India and Singapore, according to Platts fixture reports. Around 1 million barrels also logged destinations as Panama for the week, which suggest either they will be put into storage or cross through the Panama Canal or the Trans-Panama pipeline and head to Asia.
NYMEX January RBOB settled 2.41 cents higher at $1.4120/gal, and February ULSD was up 30 points on the day at $1.4898/gal.
Gasoline stockpiles were down 1.19 million barrels at 236.56 million barrels last week, EIA data showed, extending a counter-seasonal draw for a second straight week. The decline puts stocks at a five-week low and just 1.6% above the five-year average, marking the narrowest supply overhang since mid-October.
Total product supplied for gasoline, EIA's proxy for demand, averaged at 8.13 million b/d last week, up 1.3% from the week prior. The demand uptick is notable as gasoline consumption typically declines during the end-of-year holidays, hitting a seasonal nadir in mid-January, EIA data shows.
The ICE New York Harbor RBOB crack versus Brent rallied to $7.35/b in afternoon trading, the strongest since early October.
