US commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 0.5% during the week ending Feb. 21, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) late Wednesday.
Inventories fell by around 2.3 million barrels to 430.2 million barrels, against the market prediction of 2.3 million barrels increase.
Strategic petroleum reserves, which are excluded from commercial crude stocks, remained unchanged at 395.3 million barrels, the data revealed.
Over the same period, gasoline inventories rose by around 400,000 barrels to 248.3 million barrels.
- Crude production increases
EIA data showed that US crude oil production increased by 5,000 barrels per day (bpd) to about 13.5 million bpd during the week ending Feb. 21
US crude oil imports increased by 98,000 bpd to approximately 5.91 million bpd, while exports decreased by 193,000 bpd to around 4.18 million bpd over the same period.
In the Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) released on Feb. 11, the EIA predicted that crude oil output in the country would reach an average of 13.6 million bpd in 2025.
By Humeyra Ayaz
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr