Last week (Nov. 29-Dec. 3), U.S. crude inventories fell by 240,000 barrels, much smaller than expected

According to foreign news on December 8, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released a report on Wednesday showing that US crude oil inventories fell slightly last week, and gasoline and distillate inventories rose
.

U.
S.
crude inventories fell 240,000 barrels to 432.
87 million barrels in the week ended Dec.
3, compared with analysts' expectations of a 1.
7 million barrel
reduction.

Crude inventories in Cushing, Oklahoma, rose 2.
37 million barrels to 30.
92 million barrels
.

Refinery crude processing increased by 154,000 b/d to 15.
79 million b/d, and refinery capacity utilization increased by 1 percentage point to 89.
8%.

U.
S.
gasoline inventories rose 3.
9 million barrels to 219.
3 million barrels in the week ended Dec.
3, compared with market expectations of an increase of 1.
8 million barrels
.

Distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, rose 2.
7 million barrels to 126.
61 million barrels, compared with analysts' estimates of an increase of 1.
6 million barrels
.

Net U.
S.
crude imports rose 329,000 b/d to 4.
23 million b/d
for the week.