According to figures released on Thursday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), crude oil stocks in the United States have sharply declined, a decrease partly attributed to lower imports.
During the week ending August 30, commercial crude reserves fell by 6.9 million barrels, while analysts had only anticipated a reduction of 300,000 barrels. This decline is particularly linked to a drop in imports, which were more than 5 million barrels lower than the previous week.
Simultaneously, exports experienced a slight increase of 2%. Conversely, refinery activity in the U.S. remained steady at 93.3%.
The American market exhibited signs of easing, as evidenced by a significant 4.9% decline over the week in the volumes of refined products delivered, which are viewed as an implicit indicator of demand. Gasoline quantities decreased by 4%, a surprising shift given that this week precedes the long Labor Day weekend, the final major holiday of the summer travel season in the U.S. Additionally, gasoline inventories rose by 800,000 barrels, whereas analysts had anticipated a decrease of 1.1 million barrels.
Regarding U.S. production, it remained stable at 13.3 million barrels per day, close to its record high of 13.4 million. The EIA report prompted a rise in crude oil prices, which were already trending upward. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for October delivery increased by 1.32%, reaching $70.12.
