The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that U.S. crude oil inventories decreased last week while gasoline and distillate stocks grew.
Crude oil stockpiles dropped by 640,000 barrels to reach 423.4 million barrels during the week that ended on September 11. Market analysts surveyed had anticipated a larger decline of 1.6 million barrels.
Inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub decreased by 342,000 barrels during the same period.
Refinery operations processed 256,000 fewer barrels per day compared to the previous week. Refinery utilization rates dropped by 1 percentage point to 96.8%.
Gasoline inventories increased by 794,000 barrels to 207.7 million barrels. Analysts had predicted gasoline stocks would fall by 1 million barrels.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, grew by 1.6 million barrels to 107.9 million barrels. This exceeded analyst expectations for a 71,000-barrel increase.
Net crude oil imports into the United States fell by 1.18 million barrels per day during the week.
