US Crude Inventories Drop 1.9 Million Barrels as Oil Prices Climb

U.S. commercial crude inventories fell by 1.9 million barrels in the week ending October 23, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday, leaving stockpiles at 410.6 million barrels — about 4% below the five-year seasonal average. The draw follows an American Petroleum Institute report showing a 2.031 million-barrel decline for the same period. Crude futures rose on the data. Brent traded at $115.61 a barrel, up $1.73 (+1.52%) and roughly $7 higher than a week earlier, while WTI gained $2.51 (+2.51%) to $102.41, up nearly $5 week over week. Gasoline inventories bucked the trend, rising 3.9 million barrels after a 3 million-barrel decline the prior week, with average daily production slipping to 9.2 million barrels. Middle distillate stocks fell 1.5 million barrels to 5.2 million barrels a day of output and now sit 10% below the five-year average. Total products supplied, a demand proxy, averaged 20.8 million barrels per day over the past four weeks, up 0.2% year over year.