US commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 1.4% during the week ending Aug. 15, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) late Wednesday.
Inventories fell by around 6 million barrels to 420.7 million barrels, contrasting with a forecasted fall of 800,000 barrels.
Strategic petroleum reserves, which are excluded from commercial crude stocks, increased by 200,000 barrels to 403.4 million barrels, the data revealed.
Over the same period, gasoline inventories decreased by approximately 2.7 million barrels to 223.6 million barrels.
- Crude production rises
EIA data showed that US crude oil production increased by 55,000 barrels per day (bpd) to about 13.38 million bpd during the week ending Aug. 15.
US crude oil imports fell by 423,000 bpd to approximately 6.49 million bpd, while exports rose by 795,000 bpd to around 4.37 million bpd over the same period.
In the Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) released on August 12, the EIA projected that crude oil output in the country would average 13.41 million bpd in 2025.
By Handan Kazanci
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr