A recent report from the Energy Information Administration, released on Wednesday, indicates that U.S. crude oil inventories experienced a sharper decline than anticipated for the week ending January 3rd. According to the EIA, crude oil reserves decreased by 1.0 million barrels last week, following a reduction of 1.2 million barrels in the prior week. This decline surpassed economists' forecasts, who had predicted a slight decrease of 0.3 million barrels.
Currently, U.S. crude oil inventories stand at 414.6 million barrels, approximately 6 percent below the five-year average for this period. In contrast, gasoline inventories saw a significant increase, rising by 6.3 million barrels last week, although they remain about 1 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.
Additionally, distillate fuel inventories, encompassing heating oil and diesel, increased by 6.1 million barrels over the last week but continue to trail the five-year average by approximately 4 percent, as reported by the EIA.
