Larger-than-Expected Decline in U.S. Crude Oil Inventories

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported on Thursday that "crude oil, gasoline, and distillate inventories in the United States decreased last week." It noted that "crude oil inventories fell by 1.5 million barrels to 452.2 million barrels last week," while analysts had anticipated a decline of 1 million barrels in a Reuters poll. The administration mentioned that "crude oil stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub decreased by 400,000 barrels for the week ending June 30." Additionally, it stated that "U.S. refiners' crude oil consumption decreased by 224,000 barrels per day last week." The utilization rate of refineries declined by 1.1 percentage points during that week. The administration clarified that "gasoline inventories fell by 2.5 million barrels to 219.5 million barrels last week, compared to analysts' expectations in the Reuters poll for a decrease of 1.4 million barrels." Data from the administration indicated that "distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, declined by 1 million barrels to 113.4 million barrels, against expectations for an increase of 300,000 barrels."