Crude oil inventories fell in the past week not only across the U.S. but also at Oklahoma’s Cushing Hub. They led to a 1% gain in crude oil prices on Friday.
The U.S. inventories dropped by 4.2 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 20, falling from 421 million barrels to 416.8 million. The decline since the first week in December was even more, from 422 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 6, a drop of 5.2 million barrels.
Cushing’s decline was 300,000 barrels. It recorded 23 million barrels for the week ended Dec. 13 but fell to 22.7 million barrels for the week ended Dec. 20.
For the week ended Dec. 6, Cushing maintained 22.9 million barrels.
Analysts had expected a drawdown nationally of 1.9 million barrels so the larger drawdown was a surprise and also the catalyst for Friday’s increase in crude oil prices. The drawdown, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, was the result of increased activity by refiners and the holiday travel season.
