API reports a dip in US crude stocks – Trading Economics

Crude oil inventories in the US moved 640,000 bbls lower in the week that ended 21 February, according to the American Petroleum Institute (API) estimates cited by Trading Economics.

PHOTO: Oil pumpjacks with the US flag in the background. Getty Images

The latest data marked the “first weekly draw since mid-January after five consecutive week of inventory rises,” Trading Economics noted.

Market participants were expecting a build of around 2.3 million bbls in the week. “Last week’s output disruptions in North Dakota might’ve contributed to the stock decline,” two analysts from ING Bank said.

Last week, the API reported an increase of 3.34 million bbls in US crude oil inventories in its Weekly Statistical Bulletin, which tracks crude stock builds.

The broadly followed US government data on crude oil stockpiles from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due later today.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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