The U.S.' crude oil and gasoline inventories declined last week, while crude production fell for the second week in a row, according to data released by the country's Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday.
According to the EIA's data, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 3.9 million barrels, or 0.9 percent, to 449.1 million barrels for the week ending March 8 compared to the market expectation of a 2.6 million barrel increase. Crude stocks rose by 7.1 million barrels during the previous week.
Gasoline stocks also fell by 4.6 million barrels, or 1.8 percent, to 246.1 million barrels during the same period. The market estimate was a decline of 2.5 million barrels, while gasoline inventories fell by 4.2 million barrels the week before.
-Crude output down
U.S. crude oil production fell by 106,000 barrels per day (bpd) to around 12 million bpd for the week ending March 8, the EIA data showed.
This market the second consecutive week that crude output in the country showed a decline.
While crude oil production decreased by 6,000 bpd in the state of Alaska, it fell by 100,000 bpd in other U.S. states.
Crude oil output in the U.S. is expected to average 12.3 million bpd in 2019 and 13 million bpd in 2020, according to the EIA's Short-Term Energy Outlook report for March.
By Ovunc Kutlu
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr