Crude oil and gasoline inventories in the United States declined again last week, according to new data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), as global oil markets continued to react to supply disruptions linked to tensions in the Middle East.
The EIA reported that US commercial crude oil inventories dropped by 4.3 million barrels in the week ending May 8, reducing total stockpiles to 452.9 million barrels.
The latest figures place US crude inventories approximately 0.3 per cent below the five-year average for this period, extending a broader trend of declining stock levels in recent weeks.
Data from the report also showed that crude inventories have fallen by a cumulative 3.3 million barrels over the last seven weeks.
The inventory figures followed earlier estimates released by the American Petroleum Institute, which projected a separate draw of 2.188 million barrels during the same reporting period.
Oil prices showed limited movement on Wednesday despite the continued inventory declines, with Brent crude trading around $107.80 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate near $102.50 per barrel during early trading.
The EIA also reported a 4.1 million-barrel decline in gasoline inventories after a 2.5 million-barrel drop recorded in the previous week.
Average gasoline production increased to 9.8 million barrels per day during the period, while middle distillate inventories, including diesel and heating oil, rose slightly by 200,000 barrels.
Distillate inventories nevertheless remained about 9 per cent below the five-year seasonal average.
According to the report, total petroleum products supplied to the US market averaged 20.1 million barrels per day over the last four weeks, while gasoline demand stood at 8.9 million barrels daily.
Distillate demand averaged 3.7 million barrels per day, representing a 1.3 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.
Market analysts said the continued decline in US oil and fuel inventories reflects tightening global supply conditions amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and elevated crude oil prices.