U.S. Crude Oil Inventories Fall Much More Than Expected

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday showed crude oil inventories in the U.S. fell by much more than expected in the week ended April 25th.

The EIA said crude oil inventories slid by 2.7 million barrels last week after inching up by 0.2 million barrels in the previous week. Economists had expected crude oil inventories to edge down by 0.6 million barrels.

At 440.4 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 6 percent below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said.

The report also showed gasoline inventories slumped by 4.0 million barrels last week and are about 4 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.

Meanwhile, the EIA said distillate fuel inventories, which include heating oil and diesel, rose by 0.9 million barrels last week but remain about 13 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.