The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a significant decline in crude oil and gasoline inventories for the week ending October 16. The data showed crude oil stocks decreased by approximately 3.06 million barrels to 412.5 million barrels, surpassing analyst expectations
which predicted a drop of about 820,000 barrels. Gasoline inventories also fell by 2.95 million barrels to 205.3 million barrels, exceeding forecasts that anticipated a decline of around 443,000 barrels. Conversely, distillate fuel inventories, including diesel and heating oil, rose
by 1.68 million barrels to 104.3 million barrels, contrary to market expectations of a decrease by about 1.16 million barrels. Operationally, refinery utilization rates dipped slightly by 0.1 percentage point to 93.4% for the week, while net crude oil imports
into the United States increased by 837,000 barrels per day. Additionally, crude oil stocks at the strategic delivery point in Cushing, Oklahoma, rose by 987,000 barrels during the same period, a key indicator closely monitored by the market as a
benchmark for pricing U.S. crude futures contracts.
