U.S. Crude Oil Inventories Fall More Than Expected

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday showed crude oil inventories in the U.S. fell by more than expected in the week ended January 3rd.

The EIA said crude oil inventories dipped by 1.0 million barrels last week after falling by 1.2 million barrels in the previous week. Economists had expected crude oil inventories to edge down by 0.3 million barrels.

At 414.6 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 6 percent below the five-year average for this time of year, the report said.

Meanwhile, the report said gasoline inventories surged by 6.3 million barrels last week but remain about 1 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.

Distillate fuel inventories, which include heating oil and diesel, also jumped by 6.1 million barrels last week but remain about 4 percent below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said.