Oil softens, gold steady
Oil dips below USD 70
Crude prices did not get a boost from a mixed weekly EIA crude oil inventory report. The headline draw of 5.2 million barrels, greater than the expected decline of 2.9 million barrels, but everyone seemed to focus on the surprising massive builds with gasoline and distillate inventories. The beginning of the peak summer driving season disappointed, but that maybe was more of a reflection of a cool and partly rainy Memorial Day weekend over the Midwest and Northeast.
Refiners are pumping out a lot of fuel, operating at 91.3% of their operable capacity. The pickup in crude demand has been solid over the past month, but this week showed a little dip. Gasoline demand is strong as it hovers near the five-year average on a seasonal basis. The demand outlook still looks amazing and gasoline inventories should start to come down quickly after school ends.