* U.S. crude oil, product stocks hit record
* EIA data shows a drop in crude stock vs API increase
(Update after weekly oil data release)
By Ikuko Kurahone
LONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell to a five week
low on Wednesday as U.S. government data showed inventories of
crude and oil products rose to a record high in the world's top
consumer the United States.
U.S. crude oil futures <CLc1> fell $1.51 to $74.26 a barrel
by 1503 GMT, having hit $73.83 earlier, the lowest price since
early July.
ICE Brent <LCOc1> fell $1.25 to $75.20, after flipping into
a premium to the U.S. benchmark on Tuesday.
Combined inventories of crude and refined products,
excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, reached 1.130 billion
barrels last week, compared with the previous record of 1.127
billion barrels struck in September 1990, data from the U.S.
Energy Information Administration showed. []
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Graphic on WTI's relation to Brent and Cushing stocks:
http://link.reuters.com/sap65n
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EIA VS API
The EIA data showed a 818,000 barrel drop in U.S. crude
stocks, roughly in line with analysts' forecast for a 1 million
barrel drop.
That contrasted with Tuesday's set of figures from the
industry group the American Petroleum Institute (API), which
showed a 5.9 million barrels rise crude stocks. []
"The initial reaction to EIA data is slightly counter to the
reaction to APIs Tuesday afternoon; with EIAs not as bearish as
the APIs and economic sluggishness still taking centre stage,"
Jay Levine, broker with Enerjay, said.
"Nevertheless, the current supply/demand equation with
plenty of supply and not enough demand has shaved the complex of
much of the summer and hurricane premiums that were built in
over the last few months."
Crude oil stocks at Cushing in Oklahoma, the delivery point
of U.S. crude fell 687,000 barrels to 37.0 million barrels. The
level is still relatively high.
High inventories at Cushing typically push North Sea
benchmark Brent crude prices to a premium to U.S. crude. Many
investors put their money on moves of the spread between these
crude oil contracts.<CL-LCO1=R>
The premium of Brent has been around a two-month high since
Tuesday. In the week to Aug. 6, Crude supplies at Cushing stood
at 37.7 million barrels in the week to Aug. 6, just shy of a
record 37.9 million barrels in mid-May.
Oil Prices are now centred near the mid-point of the
$64.24-$87.15 trading range so far this year as increases in
energy demand in emerging markets has been insufficient to drain
ample supplies in other areas in the world.
The price level is also around the sweet spot of the $70-$80
range for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC).
(Reporting by Alejandro Barbajosa in Singapore and Ikuko
Kurahone in London; editing by Keiron Henderson)
