Economy Update – Market Insights
U.S. equities experienced a noteworthy uptick last week, surpassing the expectations set by analysts, while the inventories of gasoline and distillate products showed a decline.
According to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) today, crude oil stocks rose by 3.6 million barrels to a total of 433.8 million barrels for the week ending February 28. This increase exceeded anticipations from analysts, who had expected a rise of 341,000 barrels, as per a recent poll.
Conversely, gasoline stocks fell by 1.4 million barrels, bringing total inventories down to 246.8 million barrels. This decline was also larger than projections, which had anticipated a drop of 369,000 barrels.
Additionally, the EIA data highlighted a reduction in distillate fuel products, which include diesel and heating oil, by 1.3 million barrels to reach 119.2 million barrels, against expectations of a decrease of 220,000 barrels.
The report indicated that net crude oil imports into the U.S. decreased by 54,000 barrels per day in the past week.
In the refining sector, crude consumption diminished by 346,000 barrels per day, while refinery operating rates saw a slight decline of 0.6 percentage points on a weekly basis.
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