On Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said that the US crude inventories unexpectedly dropped on the back of higher refining activities and exports as higher fuel prices raised margins.
In the week to November 12, crude stockpiles plunged by 2.1 million barrels, surprisingly contrasting with the predictions for a climb of 1.4 million barrels. The level came even when the US released 3 million barrels of crude from its strategic reserve for the second week in a row.
In Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub, crude inventories jumped by 216,000 barrels for the first time in several weeks.
This reading, according to economist Robert Yawger of Mizuho, is relieving as the falling storage would cause crude oil to skyrocket but now it would not be a case.
Refinery crude runs edged up by 31,000 bpd as refinery utilization rates inched up by 1.2% to 87.9% of total capacity.
Likewise, gasoline and distillate stocks were also down by 708,000 bpd and 824,000 barrels, respectively. The fall in gasoline exceeded expectations of a fall of 575,000 barrels.
Last week, net US crude imports dropped by 490,000 bpd as exports jumped by roughly 3.6 million bpd.
On Wednesday, by 10.55 AM EST (15.55 GMT), US crude fell by 1.5% to USD79.53/barrel while Brent slipped by 1.1% or 89 cents to USD81.55/barrel.
