US refinery utilisation, the proportion of total capacity at which refiners operate, fell 2.9 percentage points to 78.4 percent last week, a government report showed on Thursday. That was the lowest since the 1980s, barring occasional periods of hurricane-related disruptions, Department of Energy data showed.
"For the refinery run rates, it's a bit on the surprise side," said Serene Lim, a Singapore-based oil analyst at ANZ. "At this time of year they shouldn't be dropping that much. With low demand, refiners don't find an incentive to produce more." March-settlement US crude touched $75.62 a barrel, the lowest intraday price since December 23, and was trading up 8 cents at $76.15 by 0820 GMT. Prices have dropped almost $8 from a 15-month low of almost $84 on January 11. London Brent crude for March rose 21 cents to $74.79.
US regulator Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on January 14 announced proposals to put a cap on the size of positions dealers can hold, aiming to limit speculation. Most traders considered the proposals to be not as strict as feared. But stricter rules to limit banks' trading activities proposed yesterday put pressure on the CFTC to take tougher action, Lim said.