Change in Inventory

It isn’t often that a market measure simultaneously shrinks in quantity and gains in importance, but that is the case for crude oil imports into Gulf refineries this year. Six to nine months ago, traders were predicting the end of imports, and signaling a declining interest in how much foreign crude is still making it into the US. The indifference has turned into keen interest as two trends emerge: A far from smooth decline in total volumes, and a rising correlation between imports and PADD 3 storage.  In today’s blog, we examine these developments and their implications for the market.