The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Wednesday
that crude inventories declined by
2.508 million barrels in the week
ended May 10, following a drop of 1.362 million barrels in the previous week. Economists
had predicted a fall of 1.350 million barrels.
At the same
time, gasoline stocks slipped by 0.235 million barrels. Analysts
had forecast a build of 0.880 million barrels. The previous week recorded a gain
of 0.915 million barrels.
Elsewhere,
distillate stocks dropped by 0.045 million barrels. Analysts
had predicted an advance of 0.770 million barrels. The previous week registered
an increase of 0.560 million barrels.
Meanwhile, oil
production in the U.S. remained unchanged at 13.100 million barrels per day.
U.S. crude oil
imports averaged 6.7 million barrels per day last week, logging a decrease of 226,000
barrels per day from the week before.