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US crude oil inventories fall 7.2 million barrels amid Middle East risk
Commercial crude stockpiles dropped to 404.5 million barrels, about 7.0% below the five-year average for this time of year, while crude futures jumped on escalating tensions.
Crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 7.2 million barrels for the week ending July 24, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) cited by OilPrice. The decline left commercial stockpiles at 404.5 million barrels, roughly 7.0% below the five-year average for the same time of year.
OilPrice said the EIA release followed figures from the American Petroleum Institute (API) a day earlier that reported a 3.296 million barrel drop in crude inventories. In early trading, crude futures rose sharply as the United States and Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes against Iran-aligned militias in Iraq in response to drone attacks targeting Saudi oil infrastructure.
OilPrice reported that at 9:18 a.m. in New York, Brent futures traded around $90.03 per barrel, up $5.94, or 7.1%, on the day. WTI was also higher, trading up by $5.51, or 6.9%, at $84.77 per barrel.
On the refined products side, OilPrice said the EIA reported a slight increase in total motor gasoline inventories compared with the prior week’s 800,000-barrel build, and that average daily gasoline production rose to 9.9 million barrels. For middle distillates, inventories increased by 1.1 million barrels, with production averaging 5.4 million barrels daily, while distillate inventories were about 9.0% below the five-year average.
Latest closeWTI crude $81.23 ▼1.7%|Brent $85.92 ▼2.8%|Gasoline (RBOB) $3.164 ▼4.9%