Saudi Arabia stockpile drawdown… WSJ

The Wall Stree Journal reports that Saudi Arabia is working down oil stocks to meet summertime domestic demand rather than increase production:

“The world’s top exporter of crude oil drew its storage levels down in May to the lowest level since August 2014, according to the Joint Organisations Data Initiative, a group based in Riyadh that compiles oil industry information. The country’s crude inventories fell 12% since October to 289 million barrels in the longest sustained drawdown in 15 years.”

“It doesn’t want to ramp up production past its record, more than 10.5 million barrels a day set in June 2015, to meet peak local demand during the scorching summer. Such an increase might signal to investors that there is no end in sight for a global glut of crude that helped sink oil prices to 13-year lows during the winter.”

http://www.wsj.com/articles/saudi-arabia-turns-to-oil-stockpiles-as-it-juggles-exports-domestic-needs-1468950210