US crude stocks fell slightly more than expectations

Front-month ICE Brent crude futures dropped $0.21/bbls in the first 30 minutes after the official weekly figures from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) were released today.

PHOTO: Oil refinery complex with big American flag displayed, and fumes coming out from the chimney. Getty Images

Commercial US crude inventories fell by 4.5 million bbls on the week, to 419.75 million bbls on 13 October, according to the EIA.

The weekly stock draw was slightly bigger than the 4.38 million bbls million bbls drop projected by the American Petroleum Institute (API) a day earlier.

US refinery utilisation remained steady at 86% last week.

Gasoline stocks have dropped by 2.4 million bbls over the week, to 223 million bbls.

Distillate stocks, which include diesel and gasoil, dropped by a massive 3.2 million bbls to 114 million bbls – the lowest since June this year.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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