Refiners Valero Energy ( NYSE: VLO ), Marathon Petroleum ( NYSE: MPC ) and Phillips 66 ( NYSE: PSX ) are among the strongest performers on the S&P 500, with the S&P energy sector ( XLE ) outperforming other groups following oil inventory data; ( VLO ) +3.7% , ( MPC ) +2.2% and ( PSX ) +1.7% .
WTI front-month crude oil ( CL1:COM ) +0.9% to $87.29/bbl, recouping a slice of an 8% slide over the previous three sessions, after the EIA reported huge weekly declines in U.S. inventories of crude oil and gasoline; crude inventories had a huge draw of 7.1M barrels, and gasoline stocks fell 4.6M barrels, both much higher than expected.
The latest numbers suggest analysts were correct in predicting Americans would hit the road for late-summer road trips, but not drive as far as normal due to high prices at the pump.
The EIA also said U.S crude exports hit 5M bbl/day, the highest on record , as WTI has traded at a steep discount to Brent and made purchases of U.S. crude more attractive to foreign buyers.
ETFs: ( USO ), ( UCO ), ( SCO ), ( BNO ), ( DBO ), ( USL )
U.S. benchmark crude oil climbed 3.5% last week, closing above $92/bbl, after tumbling nearly 10% in the previous week .
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Oil refiners jump as U.S. crude, gasoline inventories fall more than expected