US crude oil, gasoline stockpiles fall sharply on strong export demand

The US Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday that crude oil and gasoline stockpiles in the United States fell sharply in the week to July 26 due to strong export demand.

It added that crude stockpiles fell by 3.4 million barrels to 433 million, more than three times the 1.1 million barrel decline analysts had expected in a Reuters poll.

Inventories fell for a fifth straight week in the longest streak of declines since January 2021. The administration said crude oil stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 1.1 million barrels last week.

According to the administration’s data, crude oil exports rose by 733,000 barrels per day to 4.9 million barrels per day last week, leading to a decline in net imports of 651,000 barrels per day to just over 2 million barrels per day. US exports of petroleum products rose by 148,000 barrels per day to 6.59 million barrels per day.