New York, July 22 (QNA) - The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said today that total US crude oil inventories, including commercial stockpiles and the government's Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 131.6 million barrels to 723.1 million barrels last week, the lowest level since 1984, amid lower refinery utilization rates, reduced crude exports, and higher imports.
The EIA said commercial crude oil inventories rose by 2 million barrels to 411.7 million barrels in the week ended Jul. 17, compared with analysts' expectations for a decline of about 1.1 million barrels.
The agency said refinery crude oil inputs declined by 58,000 barrels per day during the week, while refinery utilization slipped by 0.1 percentage point to 96.1%. US crude oil exports fell by about 368,000 barrels per day, while imports increased by 117,000 barrels per day to 5.8 million barrels per day.
Gasoline inventories rose by 765,000 barrels during the week to 211.3 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations for a 1.5-million-barrel decline. (QNA)