EIA: US oil inventories fell, gasoline rose last week

Crude oil inventories in the United States fell last week, according to what the US Energy Information Administration revealed on Wednesday, while gasoline inventories increased in return.

EIA data indicated that crude oil inventories fell by 934,000 barrels to 421 million in the week ending December 13, compared to expectations of a decrease of 1.6 million barrels according to analysts in a Reuters poll.

The US administration stated that crude inventories at the delivery center in Cushing, Oklahoma, increased by 108,000 barrels during the previous week, according to Reuters.

According to “CNBC”, the administration’s data showed a decrease in crude oil consumption in refineries by about 48,000 barrels per day last week. Refinery utilization rates decreased by 0.6% to 91.8%.

In contrast, gasoline inventories increased by 2.3 million barrels in the week ending December 13 to 222 million, according to what the Energy Information Administration said, compared to expectations of an increase of 2.1 million barrels in a Reuters poll.

The administration indicated that distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 3.2 million barrels last week to 118.2 million barrels, compared with expectations for a rise of 700,000 barrels. Net U.S. crude oil imports fell last week by about 1.13 million barrels per day, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.