WTI futures pare daily gains as US crude inventories expand to new record

West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude trimmed previous gains based on a weaker US dollar after the Energy Information Administration reported a larger-than-expected jump in US crude inventories that brought them to a new record.

US crude for delivery in May traded 0.25% higher at $47.63 per barrel at 14:50 GMT, shifting in a daily range between $48.37 and $47.00. The contract gained for a third day on Tuesday, adding 0.13% to $47.51.

Meanwhile on the ICE, Brent for settlement in the same month was up 0.65% at $55.47 a barrel, ranging between $56.25 and $54.70 for the day. The contract slipped 1.45% on Tuesday to $55.11, settling at a premium of $7.60 to its US counterpart, compared to $8.47 on Monday. The gap widened to $7.84 on Wednesday.

EIA data showed that US crude oil stockpiles rose by 8.170 million barrels to 466.7 million in the seven days ended March 20th, the highest in at least 80 years. This compared to analysts projections for a jump of 5.133 million barrels. Supplies at the Cushing, Oklahoma storage hub jumped to 56.3 million barrels from 54.4 million a week earlier, the highest on weekly data spanning back to April 2004.

US crude oil production inched up by 3 000 barrels per day to 9.422 million bpd, the highest on weekly records started in January 1983. Crude imports slid by 104 000 barrels per day to 7.392 million bpd, while the four-week average of inbound shipments was at 7.262, 1% lower than a year earlier.

Refineries operated at 89.0% of their operable capacity, compared to 88.1% during the preceding week. Both gasoline and distillate fuel production decreased and averaged 9.0 and 4.7 million barrels per day, respectively.

Motor gasoline inventories fell by 2.014 million barrels last week to 233.4 million, exceeding a projected 1.63-million decrease, while distillate fuel inventories declined by a mere 0.03 million barrels to 125.8 million, compared to forecasts for a drop of 0.83 million barrels.