By Dan Molinski

U.S. crude-oil inventories are expected to have risen from the previous week in data due Wednesday from the Energy Department, according to a survey by The Wall Street Journal.

The average of estimates from 11 analysts and traders showed U.S. commercial oil stockpiles are projected to have increased by 1.1 million barrels for the week ended June 2, with three analysts forecasting a decline and eight predicting an increase. Forecasts range from a decrease of 1.4 million barrels to an increase of 3.2 million barrels.

The forecasts for an increase may be partly due to a DOE report Monday indicating it sold another 1.8 million barrels of crude last week from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to the commercial side. That brings those emergency crude supplies down to a nearly 40-year low of 353.6 million barrels.

The closely watched inventory data from the DOE's Energy Information Administration are scheduled for release at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.

Gasoline inventories are expected to rise by 200,000 barrels from the previous week, according to analysts. Estimates range from a decrease of 2 million barrels to an increase of 2.5 million barrels.

Stocks of distillates, which is mostly diesel fuel, are expected to rise by 1 million barrels from the previous week. Forecasts range from a decrease of 2 million barrels to an increase of 3 million barrels.

Refinery use likely increased by 0.5 percentage point from the previous week to 93.6%, which would be a fresh high for the year. Forecasts range from increases of 0.2 percentage-point to 0.9-percentage-point. Three analysts didn't make a forecast.

The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said late Tuesday that its own data for the week showed a 1.7-million-barrel decrease in crude supplies, a 2.4-million-barrel rise in gasoline stocks and a 4.5-million-barrel increase in diesel inventories, according to a source.

                                                                 Refinery 
                                   Crude  Gasoline  Distillates   Use 
Again Capital                        3.2       1.7          2.1       0.6 
Citi Futures                         1.5       2.5            3       0.5 
Commodity Research Group            -1.4         2          0.6       0.2 
Confluence Investment Management     1.5         1            2       0.5 
DTN                                  1.5      -1.4          1.2       0.3 
Excel Futures                       -1.3      -1.2          1.2       0.2 
Spartan Capital Securities           0.3      -1.6            1       n/f 
Mizuho                                 2        -1         -0.5       0.5 
Price Futures Group                    3        -2           -2       n/f 
Ritterbusch and Associates           2.2       2.0          2.4       0.9 
Tradition Energy                    -0.5       0.2         -0.5       n/f 
 
AVERAGE                              1.1       0.2          1.0       0.5 
 
 

n/f = no forecast

unch = unchanged

Note: Numbers in millions of barrels, with the exception of refinery use, which is in percentage points.

Write to Dan Molinski at dan.molinski@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 07, 2023 15:10 ET (19:10 GMT)