US Oil stocks fell last week, strong demand for Oil products – Commerzbank

According to the US Department of Energy, US crude Oil inventories fell by 2.4 million barrels last week compared to the previous week, Commerzbank's commodity analyst Carsten Fritsch notes.

Gasoline demand reaches a two-month high

"This meant that the decline in inventories was larger than expected and also exceeded the reduction reported by the API. US gasoline stocks fell by 1.2 million barrels, while US distillate stocks fell by 1.8 million barrels. This was also more than expected and, in the case of distillates, unexpected. Strong demand contributed to the drawdown in Oil product inventories."

"Gasoline demand reached a two-month high shortly before the end of the summer driving season. Demand for distillates even rose to a six-month high and the highest August level in four years."

"The deviation of distillate stocks from the five-year average subsequently increased to nearly 15%. The easing of the supply situation for middle distillates observed in recent weeks has thus come to a halt for the time being."