US commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 0.4% during the week ending Dec. 5, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) late Wednesday.
Inventories fell by around 1.8 million barrels to 425.7 million barrels, exceeding the market prediction of a 1.2 million-barrel decline.
Strategic petroleum reserves, which are excluded from commercial crude stocks, increased by 200,000 barrels, reaching 411.9 million barrels, the data revealed.
Over the same period, gasoline inventories rose by around 6.4 million barrels to 220.8 million barrels.
- Crude production increases
EIA data showed that US crude oil production increased by 38,000 barrels per day (bpd) to about 13.85 million bpd during the week ending Dec. 5.
US crude oil imports rose by 609,000 bpd to approximately 6.58 million bpd, and exports rose by around 396,000 bpd to around 4 million bpd over the same period.
In the Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) released on Dec. 9, the EIA predicted that crude oil output in the country would reach an average of 13.61 million bpd in 2025.
By Duygu Alhan
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr
