Distillates rise is 'most striking'

18/09/2009

The rise in distillates stocks - including heating oil and diesel - in recent days has been described as one of the most striking developments in the sector.

Phil Flynn, analyst in Chicago for PFGBest Research, tells Reuters that the pre-existing surplus in distillates supplies ahead of this week's American Petroleum Institute (API) report was already at a five-year high.

With this in mind, he suggests that the "incredible build in distillates" was among the most striking elements of the API data.

Reuters adds that, at 5.2 million barrels, the actual rise reported by the API quadrupled the market's forecasts.

The US Energy Information Administration followed with its own official figures, placing the growth rate in distillate stocks at 2.2 million barrels.

Meanwhile, crude stocks were seen to fall in the report, which was published on Wednesday.

Reuters notes a 4.7 million barrel drop in crude oil stockpiles over the course of the week.