US Cash Products-Gasoline slips on higher inventories

NEW YORK, June 17 (Reuters) - Gasoline differentials dropped in the U.S. Gulf Coast, New York Harbor and Group Three markets on Wednesday, pressured by news of an unexpected build in national gasoline stocks last week, dealers said.

Government data showed a surprise build in gasoline stocks in the United States last week as refiners ramped up production to meet rising summer driving season demand. [EIA/S]

Gasoline inventories rose by 3.4 million barrels to 205 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said in a weekly report. Analysts had forecast a 100,000-barrel fall.

Some of the build was concentrated in the Midwest's PADD 2 region, where inventories of gasoline on the Magellan pipeline, which supplies the Group Three market, climbed 900,000 barrels during the last week.

"We see gasoline stocks which were in question, rebound, which is bearish for the complex," said Amanda Kurzendoerfer, analyst at Summit Energy in Louisville, Kentucky. "Refiners are starting to ramp up gasoline production at the expense of other products."

Domestic refinery utilization was unchanged at 85.9 percent of capacity, matching analysts' expectations, EIA added.

U.S. crude oil prices dipped slightly on Wednesday, pulled down by the bearish gasoline data from the EIA. [O/N]

For a complete list of refinery outages, click [REF/US]

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