Following last night's massive 10.5mm barrel build (according to API), this morning's DOE inventories data was highly anticipated (with an expectation of just over 5 million barrels). It did not disappoint... printing at 9.622 million barrel inventory build, this is now the fastest inventory build on record... with record total inventory and record Supplies at Cushing. Storage concerns are growing [3]. But, despite the collapse in rig counts, high-grading and cash-flow deparation remains as crude production also hit a new record high.
The reaction...
[4]
10th weekly inventory build in a row... the biggest in 10 weeks ever...
[5]
and Production continues to rise...
[6]
For a sense of just how crazy this level of inventory is...
[7]
* * *
Just as an FYI of how crazy the market has become - when the following Bloomberg hedline hit at 1025ET
- *U.S. CRUDE INVENTORIES GAIN 1.2% IN BLOOMBERG USERS SURVEY
WTI exploded higher as the machines read it before realizing it was the expectation not the print...
[8]
Charts: Bloomberg
