API: Larger Than Expected Drop in US Oil and Gasoline Inventories

Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed that inventories of both crude oil and gasoline in the United States recorded a larger-than-expected decline last week, while distillate stocks rose.

Crude inventories fell by 4.5 million barrels in the week to August 21 to about 507.5 million barrels, while analysts had expected a decline of 3.7 million barrels.

The Petroleum Institute said crude stocks at the delivery center in Cushing, Oklahoma, were down by 646,000 barrels.

The institute data showed that gasoline stocks fell by 6.4 million barrels, while analysts polled by Reuters had expected a decrease of 1.5 million barrels. Distillate stocks, which include diesel and heating oil, rose 2.3 million barrels, while they were expected to decline by 726,000 barrels.

The data showed that last week, US imports of crude oil recorded an increase of 147 thousand barrels per day