US distillate stocks rose 2.5 million barrels in the week to Friday 26 June, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical arm of the Department of Energy, reported on Wednesday 1 July. It was a second consecutive weekly build, and it narrowed the shortfall against the five-year seasonal average to 8% from the 13% gap logged on 10 June. The prior week had already turned the trend with a 3.1mb build; two in a row break the deepening-deficit run this desk has tracked since spring.1
Distillate covers diesel and heating oil, the middle of the refining barrel. Refineries held utilisation at 96.6%, a fraction off maximum, so the rebuild came from steady output rather than demand handing barrels back to tank. At near-max runs, distillate stops falling only when domestic pull softens against unchanged production, which is what this print shows.
For a desk that has leaned long the middle of the barrel since June, the second build is the first hard sign the tightness is unwinding at its source. It is also the first threat to the European gasoil crack, the refining margin that has stayed bid while inventories quietly refilled.
