U.S. Crude Stocks Seen Falling for a Sixth Week

The survey puts crude stocks at 409.1 million barrels. Six respondents forecast a decline and three expect an increase, with estimates ranging from a 2.2 million-barrel build to a 3.1 million-barrel drawdown.

Gasoline inventories are projected to hold at 209 million barrels. Forecasts range from a 1 million-barrel increase to a 1.6 million-barrel decline. Distillate stocks, mostly diesel, are expected to fall by 1.2 million barrels to 98.1 million barrels; estimates span a 3 million-barrel drawdown to a 1 million-barrel build.

Refinery capacity use is forecast to rise by 0.5 percentage point to 95%. Estimates range from a 0.3-point to a 0.9-point increase, and two analysts did not provide forecasts for refinery runs. The U.S. Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release its inventory data Thursday at 12 p.m. ET.