U.S. crude stocks rise on strong imports - EIA

www.forbes.com Reuters, 03.05.03, 11:04 AM ET

        U.S. OIL STOCKS ESTIMATES
         (millions of barrels)
         --------- API ----------   --------- EIA ----------
         Stocks   Change   Change    Stocks   Change   Change
         2/28/2003    from     from  2/28/2003    from     from
         pvs wk   yr-ago             pvs wk   yr-ago

CRUDE 268.8 -2.5 -51.2 273.6 1.7 -53.0 DISTILLATE 100.4 -3.5 -34.6 96.5 -2.6 -33.8 GASOLINE 207.6 -2.3 -5.4 206.1 -2.0 -12.2 HEATING OIL 39.6 -1.0 -15.0 35.6 -0.5 -16.7 RFG GASOLINE 35.2 -3.0 -7.4 34.6 -2.0 -10.9 PRODUCT DEMAND 19.9 -0.2 +2.3 pct (4-week avg) UTILIZATION 87.6 -1.2 +1.7 87.8 -1.2 +0.9

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude stocks grew last week in the United States amid strong imports while gasoline and distillate inventories fell further, a government report showed.

Crude stocks rose 1.7 million barrels to 273.6 million barrels in the week ended Feb 28, but remained 53 million barrels below the level last year at this time, according to a weekly survey from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Crude imports rose 354,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 8.68 million bpd last week as shipments from Venezuela increased to close to pre-strike levels, the EIA said. Crude imports from Saudi Arabia also rose last week as increased production since the start of the year began to show up on U.S. shores.

Crude inventories in PADD 2, or the Midwest, increased slightly, but remained near the lowest level seen since the agency began collecting regional data.

April crude futures were up 11 cents at $37.00 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange shortly after the survey was released.

"The crude numbers were pretty close to expectations, more of a neutral report for crude but bullish for products," said Bill O'Grady, an analyst at A.G. Edwards.

He added that trade is likely to remain be driven by developments in the Middle East and on the perceived likelihood of a war in Iraq.

"I think you've seen the reaction to these numbers and there's not much left to talk about," O'Grady said. "It's all geopolitics now."

Distillate stocks fell 2.6 million barrels to 96.5 million barrels as demand shot up 18 percent compared to this time last year, the EIA said.

Comparing the latest weekly data to monthly data for previous years, total distillate fuel inventories at the end of February are at the lowest level for this time of year since 1963, the EIA said.

Gasoline stocks shrank by 2 million barrels to 206.1 million barrels despite a slight increase in production, the EIA said.

"Distillates were down a bit more than I thought, so that's a little bit bullish, and gasoline stocks look supportive with most of the decline in the reformulated stuff," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates.

"The bottom line is no major surprises, but nothing that will stop the upward trend," he added.

Average gasoline demand over the last four weeks is down 2.5 percent compared to the same period last year, while jet fuel demand is up 1.2 percent.

Total product supplied over the last four weeks averaged 19.9 million bpd, about 2.3 percent more than this time last year.

Refinery utilization was at 87.8 percent last week compared to 89 percent the previous week, the EIA said.

The American Petroleum Institute, which conducts its own less comprehensive survey, said Wednesday that crude stocks fell last week by 2.5 million barrels, while distillate inventories fell 3.5 million barrels, and gasoline stocks fell 2.3 million barrels.