U.S. crude oil inventories fell last week as oil refiners increased run rates and exports surged, while crude production reached its highest since the coronavirus pandemic decimated fuel consumption, Energy Information Administration data showed on Wednesday, APA reports citing Reuters.
Crude inventories (USOILC=ECI) fell by 5.96 million barrels in the week to Aug. 11 to 439.6 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.3 million-barrel drop.
Refinery crude runs (USOICR=ECI) rose by 167,000 barrels per day last week to 16.75 million bpd, their highest since January 2020, EIA data showed. Refinery utilization rates (USOIRU=ECI) rose by 0.9 percentage point ti 94.7% of total capacity.