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 July 26th.

The EIA said crude oil inventories slumped by 3.4 million barrels last week after tumbling by 3.7 million barrels in the previous week. Economists had expected crude oil inventories to dip by 1.6 million barrels.

At 433.0 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 4 percent below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said.

The report said gasoline inventories also decreased by 3.7 million barrels from last week and are about 3 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.

Meanwhile, distillate fuel inventories, which include heating oil and diesel, increased by 1.5 million barrels last week but are about 7 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.