Weekly DOE Crude & Product Inventory Analysis 11/23/2010

·         Crude inventories build vs expectations of draw– Crude oil inventories increased 1.0 mmbbls last week, compared with expectations for a 2.0 mmbbls draw (per Bloomberg). Crude oil inventories are now sitting at 358.6 mmbbls, which is 6.2% above last year and 10.0% above the five-year average. 

·         Gasoline inventories build vs expectations of draw – Gasoline inventories rose 1.9 mmbbls last week, compared with expectations for a 1.3 mmbbls draw (per Bloomberg). Inventories of gasoline are now sitting at 209.6 mmbbls, which is 0.2% below last year and 4.0% above the five-year average.

·         Distillates draw below expectations– Inventories of distillates decreased 0.5 mmbbls last week, compared with market expectations for a 1.5 mmbbls draw (per Bloomberg). Distillate inventories are now sitting at 158.3 mmbbls, which is 5.2% below last year and 15.5% above the five-year average.

·         Refinery utilization increases – Refinery utilization was up 1.7% last week to 85.5% and compares to utilization of 80.3% last year and the five-year average of 86.6%.