The Energy Information Administration (EIA) published a report on Wednesday indicating a slight reduction in U.S. crude oil inventories for the week ending December 13th. According to the report, there was a 0.9 million barrel decrease in crude oil inventories, following a previous decline of 1.4 million barrels. Analysts had anticipated a larger decrease of 1.7 million barrels. Current U.S. crude oil reserves stand at 421.0 million barrels, which is approximately 6 percent lower than the five-year average for this time of year.
Additionally, the EIA highlighted a significant drop in distillate fuel inventories, encompassing heating oil and diesel, which fell by 3.2 million barrels last week. These inventories are now about 7 percent under the five-year seasonal average. In contrast, gasoline inventories saw an increase of 2.3 million barrels last week, though they still remain approximately 3 percent below the five-year average for this period.
