Atlantic Coast ULSD stocks were at 20.109 million barrels, up 2.7 million barrels, in the reporting week ended December 14, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. This was the highest rise in inventories on a weekly basis since EIA collection began for this series in April 2004.
Still, in the four-week moving average, regional ULSD stocks were 16.37% below levels in 2011.
Atlantic Coast ULSD production rose by 45,000 b/d to 262,000 b/d. Seeing four consecutive weeks of production increases, this level is the highest since before Superstorm Sandy slammed into the US Mid-Atlantic in late October. In the week ended October 26, production averaged 263,000 b/d.
USAC ULSD production is up by more than 31% in the most recent four-week moving average compared with 2011.
"It makes sense that Macquarie could not get any bids in New York Harbor on ULSD last Friday," a shipping source said, referring to an offer for 150,000 barrels of ULSD. The cargo was ultimately heard for delivery to a port in the US Southeast.
"We [NYH] are the highest price ULSD market in the Atlantic basin," a trader said. "A lot of [Colonial] line barrels coming up. No exports."
Along that line, the arbitrage of ULSD exports to Europe has been shut, a second trader said.
"There are reversed imports from Canada," the first trader said. "ULSD is going to USAC, but not Europe."
USAC regional imports averaged 161,000 b/d, up 74,000 b/d, in the most recent reporting week.
Regional differential for Buckeye Pipeline was heard pegged at the NYMEX January heating oil futures contracts plus 5.50 cents/gal, down 42.5 points from the Tuesday assessment.
At 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT) the NYMEX January contract was at $3.0253/gal.
Atlantic Coast heating oil stocks declined by 1.723 million barrels in the most recent reporting week to 18.291 million barrels.
In the four-week moving average, stocks were off by more than 38% from comparable 2011 levels.
Atlantic Coast jet fuel stocks stood at 8.770 million barrels, down 656,000 barrels, in the most recent survey week. Jet fuel stocks were down 1.95% flat in the most recent four-week average when looking at the relevant time frame in 2011.
USAC jet fuel production averaged 66,000 b/d, down 2,000 b/d, in the week ended Friday. Production was 9.49% below levels seen in 2011 when looking at the four-week averages.
Regional refinery utilization rose 0.5 percentage points to 80.4% in the week ended Friday.
