Crude oil inventories in the United States dropped more than expected last week, according to the latest official data released on Thursday.
Inventories plunged by 5.08 million barrels, more than double the decrease of 2.4 million barrels that was expected by market analysts, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) report for the week ending on May 28 showed.
Meanwhile, gasoline stockpiles increased by 1.5 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles added 3.72 million barrels, with both coming against market expectations.
It is worth noting that the EIA weekly oil inventories report that usually comes out on Wednesday was released on Thursday this week, as the one-day delay resulted from the Memorial Day federal holiday on Monday.