The U.S.' crude oil inventories decreased for the week ending Aug. 18, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed Wednesday.
Commercial crude oil stocks fell by 5.8 million barrels, or 1.4 percent, to 408.4 million barrels last week, according to the EIA data.
The market expectation for the stocks was a decline of 1.5 million barrels. Strategic petroleum reserves, which are not included in the commercial stocks, remained unchanged at 660 million barrels.
Gasoline stocks, on the other hand, rose by 1.2 million barrels, or 0.5 percent, to 234.3 million barrels for the week ending Aug. 18. The market expectation for gasoline stocks was a decline of 0.5 million barrels.
- Crude oil production rises
The U.S.' crude oil production rose last week by 134,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 11 million bpd, according to the EIA data. While output rose 34,000 bpd in the state of Alaska, crude oil production in the other states increased 100,000 bpd.
This marked the 28th time crude oil production in the U.S. showed an increase in the past 32 weeks. The U.S.' crude oil production is expected to average 10.7 million bpd in 2018, and 11.7 million bpd in 2019, according to the EIA's Short-Term Outlook report for August.
