US oil inventories down by 5.6 mln barrels: API

Oil tanks

The American Petroleum Institute (API) said crude oil inventories fell by 5.6 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 19.

API’s weekly report revealed that gasoline inventories rose by 268,000 barrels last week, while distillate inventories increased by 1.05 million barrels.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due to release official inventory data later today, with crude inventories expected to see 2.4 million barrels less.

Oil prices advanced strongly at the settlement of trading yesterday, Aug. 23, as Brent crude futures for October delivery gained 3.9% to $100.22 a barrel. US West Texas crude for October delivery also jumped by 3.7% to $93.74 per barrel.