Why US Gasoline Inventories Rose for the Third Straight Week
A less-than-expected rise in gasoline inventories supported gasoline prices on May 3, 2017. Gasoline and crude oil (DIG) (SCO) (VDE) prices rose on May 3.
Nov. 20 2020, Updated 3:09 p.m. ET
US gasoline inventories  
The EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) reported that US gasoline inventories rose by 0.2 MMbbls (million barrels) to 241.2 MMbbls on April 21–28, 2017. A market survey estimated that US gasoline inventories would have risen by 1.3 MMbbls on April 21–28, 2017. A less-than-expected rise in gasoline inventories supported gasoline prices on May 3, 2017. Gasoline and crude oil (DIG) (SCO) (VDE) prices rose on May 3, 2017. US gasoline inventories rose for the third straight week.
Changes in gasoline and crude oil prices impact oil producers and refiners’ profitability like Marathon Petroleum (MPC), Tesoro (TSO), Bonanza Creek Energy (BCEI), and PDC Energy (PDCE). For more on crude oil and gasoline prices, read Part 1 and Part 5 of this series.
Gasoline production, imports, and demand  
US gasoline production rose by 73,000 bpd (barrels per day) to 9,783,000 bpd on April 21–28, 2017. Production rose 0.7% week-over-week, but fell 1.1% year-over-year. US gasoline imports fell by 223,000 bpd to 693,000 bpd during the same period. Gasoline demand fell by 50,000 bpd to 9,156,000 bpd.
Impact of gasoline inventories 
US gasoline inventories hit 259.1 MMbbls for the week ending February 10, 2017—the highest level ever. US gasoline inventories are 7% below their all-time high. The fall in gasoline inventories could support gasoline and crude oil prices.
In the next part of this series, we’ll take a look at US distillate inventories.