US crude oil inventories fall for week ending April 2

By Sibel Morrow

ANKARA (AA) - US commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 0.7% for the week ending April 2, according to the latest data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Inventories decreased by 3.5 million barrels to 498.3 million barrels, compared to the market expectation of a 1.325 million-barrel rise.

Strategic petroleum reserves, which are not included in commercial crude stocks, remained unchanged at 637.8 million barrels last week, the data revealed.

Gasoline inventories, however, rose by 4 million barrels, or 1.8%, to 234.6 million barrels over that period.​​​​​​​

- Crude production declines

According to EIA data, US crude oil imports increased by 119,000 barrels per day (bpd) to around 6.26 million bpd for the week ending April 2, while crude oil exports also rose by 260,000 bpd to 3.43 million bpd.

The data showed that US crude oil production declined by 187,000 bpd to approximately 11.36 million bpd during the same period.

The EIA's forecast says that US crude output is estimated at 11 million bpd for 2021, down from 11.3 million bpd in 2020.

In November 2018, the US first surpassed Saudi Arabia and then Russia to become the world's largest crude oil producer.