Petroleum prices were up as much as 2% on Wednesday after a surprise drop in crude stockpiles reported by the U.S. government, marking a third weekly decline in the closely watched data.
Figures released Wednesday morning by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed domestic crude inventories fell by 6.2 million barrels for the week ended Sept. 16, versus a 3.4 million-barrel drop forecast by oil market analysts
Crude stocks in the land of the world's largest oil consumers have fallen since this month began. The EIA also says 14.5 million barrels were reported drawn for the week ended Sept. 2, the biggest weekly drop in 15 years after a tropical storm that slowed the arrival of oil imports in the U.S. Gulf Coast. In the subsequent week to Sept. 9, there was another decline of 559,000 barrels.
The EIA concluded that gasoline stocks fell by 3.2 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations for a 567,000-barrel drop. Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 2.2 million barrels, versus expectations for a 250,000-barrel increase.
