Investing.com -- U.S. crude inventories fell by almost 1.3 million barrels last week, declining for a third straight week though far less than the prior week, while gasoline stockpiles actually rose versus expectations for a drop, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, or EIA, reported on Wednesday.
Balances for distillates, meanwhile, fell just a little more than forecast, the EIA said in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report for the week ended April 28.
Analysts tracked by Investing.com expect the EIA to report a crude stockpile drop of 1.280 million barrels for the week ended April 28, versus the previous week's draw of 5.054M.
The Biden administration, meanwhile, released 1.3 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR, last week, the EIA report showed.
On the gasoline inventory front, the EIA reported a build of 1.743M barrels. Analysts had expected the agency to cite a draw of 1.157M barrels instead, after the previous drop of 2.408M barrels for the week to April 14. Automotive fuel gasoline is the No. 1 U.S. fuel product.
With distillate stockpiles, the EIA reported a drop of 1.191M barrels. Analysts had forecast a 1.084M barrel draw, against a decline of 0.576M in the prior week. Distillates are refined into heating oil, diesel for trucks, buses, trains and ships, and fuel for jets.