US Crude Oil Inventories Fall Short of Market Expectations

US commercial crude oil inventories fell by 0.2% in the week ending September 11, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA). This decrease of approximately 600,000 barrels brought the total inventory to 423.4 million barrels.

The market had forecasted a larger drop of around 1.6 million barrels, so the actual decline was lower than expected.

Strategic petroleum reserves also decreased by about 400,000 barrels to 285 million barrels over the same period.

In contrast, gasoline inventories increased by approximately 800,000 barrels to 207.7 million barrels.