U.S. Propane Inventories Gain 2.4 MMbbl

News
U.S. propane stocks jumped by 2.4 MMbbl the week ended March 27 to stand at 57.4 MMbbl, accord­ing to the Energy Information Administration (EIA) in its April 1 “This Week in Petroleum” report. As of then, volumes were 30.8 MMbbl, or 115.9%, higher than a year ago. Gulf Coast supplies increased by 1.4 MMbbbl and the Midwest by 1 MMbbl. East Coast inventories fell 0.2 MMbbl, while the Rocky Mountain/West Coast region was unchanged. Propylene non-fuel-use stocks represented 8.2% of total volumes, off from 8.5% the previous week.

U.S. propane production for the week stood at 1.576 MMbbld, edging just fractionally higher compared to a week earlier and coming in about 0.16 MMbbld above the prior year. East Coast production was at 0.191 MMbbld, the Midwest 0.337 MMbbld, and the Gulf Coast 0.847 MMbbld. Although totals were little changed week over week, the Midwest and Gulf Coast posted minimal production increases and the East Coast was virtually unchanged. For the year, the East Coast and Midwest production rose marginally, while the Gulf Coast barely declined.

Propane imports to the nation were at 0.131 MMbbld, a total nearly identical to the previous week, and only minimally higher than last year. The East Coast received 0.059 MMbbld and the Midwest 0.063 MMbbld. U.S. propane demand for the week was at 0.893 MMbbld, off nearly 0.2 MMbbld from a week earlier and down about 0.15 MMbbld from a year ago.

The average U.S. residential price for the week ended March 30 was 229.2 cents/gal., according to EIA, 3.1 cents lower than the prior week. The New England residential average was reported at 304.7 cents; Cen­tral Atlantic, 297.5 cents; Lower Atlantic, 296.9 cents; Midwest, 180.0 cents; Gulf Coast, 239.7 cents; and Rocky Moun­tain, 197.3 cents. EIA reported the U.S. average wholesale price for the week at 63.9 cents/gal., up 0.9 cents from the previous week. The agency said the East Coast average was 74.8 cents; Central Atlantic, 79.9 cents; Lower Atlantic, 67.2 cents; and Midwest, 59.6 cents.

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