Brent rises as US crude stocks drop unexpectedly

Front-month ICE Brent crude futures gained $0.52/bbls in the first 20 minutes after the official weekly figures from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) were released today.

PHOTO: Oil refinery complex with big American flag displayed, and fumes coming out from the chimney. Getty Images

Commercial US crude inventories fell by 2.17 million bbls on the week, to 416.29 million bbls on 22 September, according to the EIA.

The weekly stock draw ran counter to the American Petroleum Institute's (API) projection of a 1.59 million bbls build a day earlier.

US refinery utilisation fell by 2.40 percentage points to a near six-month low of 89.5%.

Gasoline stocks gained by 1.03 million bbls over the week, to 220 million bbls.

Distillate stocks, which include diesel and gasoil, increased by 398,000 bbls to 120 millionbbls.

By Nithin Chandran

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