As retail gas prices fall, U.S. drivers continue to stay off the road. According to data released Wednesday from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline demand fell 1.9% year-over-year in the week ending Nov. 7. U.S. crude supplies were nearly unchanged while gasoline supply unexpectedly spiked higher for the second straight week. U.S. crude oil stockpiles increased by 22k barrels while gasoline supply grew by 1982k barrels. Crude oil inventories were expected to increase by 1000k barrels and gasoline by 100k, according to Bloomberg. The EIA said crude inventories are "in the middle of the average range for this time of year" while gasoline inventories are "near the lower boundary of the average range". It was the seventh consecutive increase in crude supplies, but the past three have been small. The EIA said crude oil imports decreased 469k barrels per day to 9.5 million bpd. Crude oil prices were higher ahead of the release but pared their gains afterwards. WTI traded on the ICE is up $0.73 to $56.85. Distillate inventories were relatively in line with estimates. They increased 516k compared to a consensus estimate of +900k. The EIA said distillate inventories are in the "lower half of the average range." Refinery utilization fell 0.69% against the consensus for a 0.20% rise. Refineries operated at 84.6% of capacity. By Adam Button, abutton@economicnews.ca, edited by Nancy Girgis, ngirgis@economicnews.ca

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