EIA: US crude oil stockpiles dropped 2.3 mb last week

Crude oil prices were higher Wednesday after the US Energy Information Administration issued its weekly report on inventories in the United States.

The EIA said that crude oil stockpiles dropped by 2.3 million barrels last week, to 357 million barrels, still 0.3 percent above inventories last year at this time, against an expected gain of 1.6 million barrels.

Gasoline stockpiles were also lower, falling 1.6 million barrels to 208.1 million barrels, smaller than the 2.1 million barrel drop that analysts had predicted, to send inventories 7.5 percent below last year’s levels, while distillates in storage were down 2.5 million barrels against an expected gain of 550,000 barrels.

The drop in gasoline inventories came despite demand that was reported 1.8 percent lower over the past four weeks than during the same period last year and as refineries upped production to 82.5 percent of capacity.

June contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were up $2.32 to $110.60 per barrel at just before 11 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude was lately up $1.93 to $123.26 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

The gains came on a weaker US dollar, while the National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales were up 3.7 percent in March, a sign that the US economy is continuing to recover.

Prices were up even before the EIA report, on more violence in northern Nigeria in the wake of last weekend’s presidential election, where a number of people have been killed in riots spurred by dissatisfaction over the reelection of President Goodluck Jonathan.

Nymex May gasoline futures were up 3 cents to $3.26 per gallon while May heating oil futures were 5 cents higher to $3.21 per gallon and natural gas futures added 4 cents to $4.30 per million British thermal units.

The retail price of gasoline in the United States was up slightly again overnight, with drivers now paying an average of $3.837 per gallon for regular unleaded.