The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that weekly crude oil inventories have been drawn down. According to the report, crude oil inventories are at 423.9 million barrels, lower than the same period in the last 5 years. For the week ending September 3, crude oil inventories decreased by 1.5 million barrels.
If the demand trend continues, oil prices are likely to rise further for the rest of the year. While oil inventories fell to their lowest level in 3 years.
Crude oil stocks were hit by Hurricane Ida in the Gulf of Mexico. As a result, more than 84% of oil production was cut.
Gasoline stocks decreased by 7.2 million barrels. Finished gasoline increased by 9.608 million barrels/day. This is up from 9.578 million barrels/day last week, indicating that gasoline demand continued to recover. The four-week average of U.S. gasoline demand was 9.523 million barrels/day, up 8.9% from 8.742 million barrels/day during the same four weeks in 2020.
Rising demand for gasoline in the U.S. has pushed the average price at gas stations to nearly $1. The average price for a gallon was $3.181, up from $2.213 in the same period in 2020.