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Stock Movements
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OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report – June 2016
Gasoline
stocks rose by 0.5 mb to end April at 11.3 mb. At this level, they were 0.1 mb
or 1.0% above the same time a year ago, but 2.2 mb or 16.3% below the latest five-
year average. This build in gasoline stocks was mainly driven by lower gasoline
demand, which declined by more than 6%. Lower gasoline output limited a further
gasoline stock build.
Total residual
fuel oil stocks
also rose by 0.3 mb in April, to stand at 13.3 mb, which
was 0.5 mb, or 3.3%, below a year ago and 2.7 mb, or 17.0%, lower than the latest
five-year average. Within fuel oil components, fuel oil A and fuel B.C rose by 4.4% and
1.2%, respectively. The build in fuel oil stocks came from lower domestic sales, which
declined by more than 15% from the previous month.
In contrast,
naphtha inventories
fell by 1.6 mb in April to stand at 9.3 mb, which was
0.7 mb, or 7.0%, lower than a year ago at the same time, and 1.3 mb, or 12.1%, lower
than the seasonal norm. This fall was driven mainly by lower output, which declined by
nearly 2%. Higher domestic sales, which increased by 2.7%, also contributed to the
stock draw of naphtha.
Table 9.4: Japan’s commercial oil stocks*, mb
China
The latest information for China showed a drop of 11.6 mb in
total commercial oil
inventories
in April to stand at 397.0 mb. At this level, Chinese commercial oil
inventories were 12.4 mb lower than the previous year at the same time. Within the
components, crude and products fell by 8.8 mb and 2.9 mb, respectively.
In April,
commercial crude stocks
fell to 229.1 mb, which is 22.0 mb below the
previous year at the same time. The fall in crude oil commercial stocks could be
attributed to lower domestic crude production, as crude imports rose m-o-m.
Total
product stocks
in China also fell by 2.9 mb in April, ending the month at
167.9 mb. At this level, product stocks were 9.6 mb higher than a year ago at the same
time. Within products, gasoline witnessed builds, while diesel and kerosene stocks
dropped.
Gasoline stocks went up by 6.8 mb, ending the month of April at 69.6 mb. This build
was driven mainly by higher gasoline output, combined with lower demand. In contrast,
diesel stocks fell further by 9.5 mb in April, following a drop in March. At 80.3 mb,
Chinese diesel stocks were 9.2 mb lower than a year ago in the same period. This fall
was driven by higher diesel demand on the back of cultivation in spring and the
resumption of construction and infrastructure projects. Kerosene stocks fell slightly by
Change
Feb 16
Mar 16
Apr 16 Apr 16/Mar 16
Apr 15
Crude oil
87.0
88.5
87.7
-0.8
84.6
Gasoline
10.9
10.7
11.3
0.5
11.1
Naphtha
12.5
10.9
9.3
-1.6
9.9
Middle distillates
23.9
20.5
24.0
3.5
24.5
Residual fuel oil
12.9
13.0
13.3
0.3
13.8
Total products
60.3
55.1
57.8
2.7
59.3
Total**
147.3
143.6
145.5
1.9
143.9
Note: * At end of month.
** Includes crude oil and main products only.
Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan.