US crude oil inventories down 0.6% for week ending Jan. 12

US commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 0.6% during the week ending Jan. 12, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday.

Inventories decreased by around 2.5 million barrels to 429.9 million barrels, compared to the American Petroleum Institute’s expectation of a rise of around 483,000 barrels.

Strategic petroleum reserves, which are excluded from commercial crude stocks, increased by 600,000 barrels to 355.6 million barrels last week, the data revealed.

Gasoline inventories also rose by around 3.1 million barrels to 248.1 million barrels over the same period.

– Crude production increases

EIA data showed that US crude oil production increased by 142,000 barrels per day (bpd) to around 13.74 million bpd during the week ending Jan. 12.

US crude oil imports rose by 1.18 million bpd to about 7.42 million bpd, and crude oil exports increased by 1.71 million bpd to approximately 5.03 million bpd over the same period.

In the Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) released on Jan. 9, the EIA predicted that crude oil output in the country would reach an average of 13.21 million bpd this year.

Next year, crude oil output in the country is expected to reach 13.44 million bpd.

• Energy Information Administration (EIA)