API reports a small drop in US crude stocks – Trading Economics

US crude oil inventories decreased by 250,000 bbls in the week ending 23 January, according to American Petroleum Institute (API) estimates cited by Trading Economics.

IMAGE: Oil storage tanks. Getty Images

The decrease “sharply contrasted” with market expectations of a build, Trading Economics reported.

Analysts had expected a 1.45 million-bbl rise instead.

A drop in US crude stocks can indicate higher demand for oil and put some upward pressure on Brent's price.

Last week, the API reported a 3.04 million-bbl increase in its Weekly Statistical Bulletin, which tracks changes in domestic crude supplies.

The official figures from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will be out later today.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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