FX.co ★ US Crude Inventories Fall 2.09 Million Barrels

US crude oil inventories fell by 2.09 million barrels in the week ending October 2, following a build of 1.019 million barrels the previous week. Over the past 25 weeks, commercial crude stocks excluding the SPR have declined by more than 38 million barrels, even as total US crude inventories have increased by nearly 13 million barrels since the start of the year. An additional 800,000 barrels were released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), reducing its holdings to 283 million barrels, close to the generally accepted operational minimum range of 250–300 million barrels. Cushing stocks rose by 866,000 barrels. Gasoline inventories fell by 1.37 million barrels after a 2.991-million-barrel build the week before, while distillate inventories increased by 461,000 barrels, reversing a prior 286,000-barrel draw. US crude oil production edged up to 13.955 million bpd in the week ending September 25, from 13.939 million bpd a week earlier.