Cushing Crude Oil Stocks Plummet by 80k Barrels
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly petroleum status report on August 28, which included data on crude oil stocks at Cushing. The report showed a significant decrease in Cushing's crude oil inventories, with a change of -0.080 million barrels from the previous week's build of 1.176 million barrels.
The Cushing stock print is an important indicator for the oil market because it serves as the delivery point for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures contracts. Persistent changes in Cushing stocks can impact the WTI curve, with sustained draws typically tightening prompt timespreads towards backwardation and builds weighing on the front spread relative to the flat price.
The EIA's petroleum status report also included data on other key indicators such as crude imports, heating oil stocks, refinery crude runs, and distillate fuel production. The report showed a decline in US crude oil imports, with a change of -0.079 million barrels from the previous week's draw of 0.161 million barrels.