EIA reported US gasoline stocks at 211.6 million barrels for the week to 22 May, an 8.2mb draw across three weeks, even as refinery utilisation surged to 94.5% from 90.1% on 1 May1. At that run rate refiners have almost no throughput headroom left, so a draw of this size reads as end-demand running above the production rate, not a refinery-side shortfall.
The same EIA release logged US crude inputs rising 652kbd week-on-week and distillate stocks roughly 11% below the five-year average, compounding the product-tightness picture into summer driving season. At 94.5% utilisation US refiners are losing ground on stocks even at full stretch.
The 8.2mb draw carries through to Europe via the export math. Fewer surplus US barrels means a smaller pool available to cross the Atlantic, which feeds straight into the EBOB (European gasoline barge price at ARA) supply balance. Where the crude-spread mechanics tighten the freight economics against export, this 8.2mb draw tightens the volume side: there is simply less American gasoline to send.
