Low levels of propane reserves frustrated by lingering heating demand to hamper rebuilding efforts in April got a shot in the arm in May. The Energy Information Administration said for the week ending May 9, propane stocks jumped a hefty 3.2 million barrels, placing reserves at an estimated 26.8 million barrels.

The weekly increase came on the heels of one of the most lackluster April builds in years, said the federal agency.

“Moreover, last week’s stockbuild was by far the highest yet for the 2003 build season and was the largest weekly increase since the week ending August 31, 2002,” EIA reported. “Although still far from reaching normal levels for this time of year, U.S. inventories of propane moved closer to the lower limit of the average range last week.”

Gains were strong in all of the major regions, boosted in part by imports into the Lower Atlantic and Midwest regions that accounted for a large part of the gains there. The East Coast and Midwest reported similar 900,000-barrel builds for the weekly period, while the Gulf Coast posted an even larger increase of 1.3 million barrels. The boost in the East Coast moved the level above the average range for the first time since the end of September 2002, while inventories in the Midwest and Gulf Coast regions continue to track below their respective average ranges.

Propane Stocks (Million Barrels)

Propane Stocks
	Most Recent							Year Ago
	03/28/03	04/04/03	04/11/03	04/18/03	04/25/03	05/02/03	05/09/03	05/10/02
U.S.	19.546	21.108	21.681	22.278	21.877	23.518	26.753	NA
East Coast (PADD I)	2.141	2.533	2.738	2.787	2.858	2.976	3.868	NA
New England (PADD IX)	0.287	0.646	0.578	0.517	0.463	0.416	0.721	NA
Central Atlantic (PADD IY)	0.737	0.791	0.851	0.921	1.042	1.176	1.211	NA
Lower Atlantic (PADD IZ)	1.116	1.096	1.308	1.349	1.353	1.384	1.936	NA
Midwest (PADD II)	5.414	5.851	6.563	6.804	6.438	7.352	8.241	NA
Gulf Coast (PADD III)	11.061	11.719	11.349	11.626	11.539	12.071	13.371	NA
Nonfuel Use (PADD I - III)	1.646	1.959	1.681	1.598	1.585	1.376	1.459	NA