January 07, 2026 [Market Watch]- Data from the Energy Information Administration released Wednesday morning show that refiners continue to pump out products as gross runs of crude oil and other feedstocks once again topped 17 million b/d.

For the week ended Friday, total runs of crude oil and other feedstocks inched a little higher to 17.201 million b/d. This is the sixth straight week that gross runs were over 17 million b/d. Over the course of the summer, runs topped 17 million b/d for 16 straight weeks, but in the dead of winter it may be a little too much, especially considering the size of the product builds and drop in demand estimates.

Last week, EIA estimated gasoline demand at 8.17 million b/d, down 393,000 b/d from the week prior. Demand is possibly even lower when looking at the amount of ethanol blended into gasoline. Ethanol blending inputs averaged 771,000 b/d, which at 10% would imply a 7.71 million b/d demand figure.

Gasoline output did take a step back last week, by just under 1 million b/d to 8.466 million b/d. The lower demand certainly outweighed softer output as inventories grew by a sharp 7.7 million bbl, which is the largest one-week build since the last week of 2024. It is, however, common for the last week of a year or the first week of the next to show very large product builds. Total gasoline inventories are now 4.3 million bbl ahead of last year.

The Midwest saw the largest build last week, growing by 3.6 million bbl. PADDs 2-5 saw a build while the East Coast was flat. The Gulf Coast once again saw a 2.2 million bbl increase as all-time highs are moving into tighter view at 93.3 million bbl.

Distillate inventories that sit on 129.3 million bbl are close to one-year highs. Storage levels were up by a solid 5.6 million bbl last week as the string of builds now stands at eight weeks, with more than 18 million bbl moving into storage. The Midwest and East Coast accounted for the largest chunk of the increase, with a combined 3.9 million bbl moving into storage tanks.

Refiners tilted some output toward the middle of the barrel with ULSD production up 81,000 b/d to 5.315 million b/d. Jet fuel also saw a bump to 1.876 million b/d, a 35,000 b/d week-to-week increase. Jet fuel output over the past several weeks has been closer to 1.9 million b/d than 1.8 million b/d.

Some of the more interesting data this past week was in waterborne movements. Gasoline exports are creeping back up, coming in at 967,000 b/d, a little higher than what might normally be seen at this time of year. Distillate exports ramped back up by 100,000 b/d to 1.527 million b/d, a five-week high. Jet fuel exports also increased to 375,000 b/d, a more-than-one-year high.

On the return side, refined product imports were adjusted nominally. However, jet fuel stands out by jumping to 210,000 b/d. A level above 200,000 b/d is quite rare. It is just the fifth time since the start of 2024 that imports topped 200,000 b/d and the highest since the week of June 13. Typically, PADD 5 is a recipient of jet fuel, but this time the East Coast accounted for 176,000 b/d of the total, also the highest since mid-June.

Gasoline and distillate imports saw minimal week-to-week movements, with gasoline coming in at 549,000 b/d as West Coast barrels dropped and distillate down to 207,000 b/d. In both cases most barrels moved to the East Coast.

Crude oil imports and exports were rising last week. Imports were up 1.386 million b/d to 6.339 million b/d. With Venezuela in the headlines the past several days, preliminary data show Venezuelan imports came in at 120,000 b/d and over the past four weeks averaged 145,000 b/d. The largest week-to-week move, though, was from Canada as imports grew 938,000 b/d to 4.121 million b/d. Midwest imports grew 869,000 b/d to 3.381 million b/d.

At the same time, exports ramped up by just shy of 825,000 b/d to 4.263 million b/d.

High runs and an increase in crude oil exports were most responsible for the 3.8 million bbl draw as 2.6 million bbl came out of Gulf Coast storage tanks.

This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.