US Oil Inventories Plummet Amid Strong Demand

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that US crude and gasoline stockpiles fell last week due to strong demand. Crude inventories decreased by 7.9 million barrels to 445 million barrels, exceeding analysts' expectations of a 2.9 million-barrel draw.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub dropped by 1.6 million barrels in the week. The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve saw crude oil exports fall by 9.9 million barrels, the most on record last week.

Giovanni Staunovo, UBS analyst, noted that this was 'another large weekly drop in US oil inventories,' driven by a massive drop of nearly 18 million barrels for commercial and strategic inventories.