US Crude Oil Inventories Drop 11.12 Million Barrels

The American Petroleum Institute estimated that United States crude oil inventories decreased by 11.12 million barrels for the week ending October 9. This decline represents a sharp acceleration from the previous week, which saw a smaller drop of 2.09 million barrels. Over the last 26 weeks, commercial crude oil inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, have fallen by more than 51 million barrels.

Despite the inventory drop, U.S. oil production rose to 13.979 million barrels per day for the week ending October 2. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve remained steady at 283 million barrels, as no oil was withdrawn to support commercial inventories during the reporting period.

Market prices responded with weekly increases of approximately $5 to $6 per barrel. Brent crude traded at $106.02 and West Texas Intermediate traded at $95.75.