U.S. Oil Inventories Down for Seventh Week in Row

Crude oil inventories in the United States declined last week for the seventh consecutive week, according to official data released on Thursday.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that crude inventories fell by 6.866 million barrels last week.

The drop in oil inventories exceeded most market expectations of a drop by about 4.033 million barrels.

Meanwhile, gasoline stockpiles decreased by 1.5 million barrels, while distillate inventories rose by 1.616 million barrels.

Data were released on Thursday instead of Wednesday as usual, as markets were off on Monday, commemorating the Independence Day holiday.