Oil Inventories Unexpectedly Drop by 2.4M Barrels Last Week: API
2022.05.18 00:11
By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com — U.S. crude oil inventories unexpectedly dropped last week, the API reported Tuesday, following a day of wild swings in oil prices on easing supply fears as President Biden could reportedly lift a ban on U.S. oil major Chevron (NYSE:CVX) doing business in Venezuela
West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, traded at $110.52 per barrel following the report after settling down 1.6% at $112.40 per barrel.
U.S. crude inventories fell by 2.4 million barrels for the week ended May. 12. That compared with a build of 1.6 million barrels reported by the API for the previous week. Economists were expecting an increase of about 1.5 million barrels.
The API data also showed that gasoline inventories fell by 5.1 million barrels last week, while distillate stocks increased by about 1.1 million barrels.
The official government inventory report due Wednesday is expected to show weekly U.S. crude supplies rose by about 1.4 million barrels last week.
