Weekly oil inventory data from the US EIA Prior was 5503K • Gasoline +8029K vs 2489K exp • Distillates +6528K vs +2382K exp • Refinery utilization -0.6% vs -0.8% exp • Production 13.2 mbpd to 13.2 mbpd • Impld mogas demand: 8.33mbpd vs 7.95mbpd prior. This isn't a great number. It hit with oil up 98-cents to $73.20. API data released late yesterday: • Crude: -5.215 million • Gasoline: +4.896 million • Distillates: +6.873 million (full story)

Oil prices extended their recent gains, as traders weighed escalating violence in the Red Sea and tighter US inventories (following last night's API report showing a big crude draw, but product builds) against a fragile market demand backdrop. As Bloomberg notes, crude has seesawed in a roughly $5 range for the past month as traders attempt to gauge the outlook for coming quarters. Turmoil in the Middle East, a shutdown of Libya’s biggest oil field and production cuts by OPEC+ are buttressing prices, while demand forecasts such as Vitol’s are tempering them. But any signs of tightness in the official inventory and ... (full story)