U.S. crude inventories fall 1.9 million barrels
Commercial crude stocks declined to 410.6 million barrels in the latest weekly report.
U.S. commercial crude oil inventories fell 1.9 million barrels to 410.6 million barrels in the week ended October 23, the weekly report released Wednesday showed. Those stocks exclude the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Commercial crude inventories were 4% below the five-year average for this time of year. The latest decline followed a roughly 3.1 million-barrel draw in the previous week.
The product picture was mixed. Gasoline inventories increased 3.9 million barrels, while distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, decreased 1.5 million barrels. Refinery utilization fell to 92.8%.
The report is a weekly snapshot of physical supply and inventories. The different moves in crude, gasoline and distillates are a reason to read the components separately rather than treat the headline draw as a uniform signal across the fuel market.
