As Demand Recovers, Oil Inventories Decline for First Time Since February, EIA Says

U.S. oil inventories decreased for the first time in five weeks as demand rebounded, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday.

In its Weekly Petroleum Status Report, EIA said crude inventories — excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — fell by 900,000 bbl from the previous week. Still, at 501.8 million bbl, U.S. stocks were 6% above the five-year average.

The agency said demand increased 9% week/week as utilization by Gulf Coast refiners ramped up following a sluggish recovery from the Artic freeze that derailed the Texas energy sector in February. Demand was up more than 13% from a year earlier.

U.S. refinery utilization rose to 84% last week, up from 56% in mid-February amid the winter blast. Crude oil inputs to refineries last week...