U.S. Crude Oil Inventories Decline Amid Lower Imports

U.S. crude oil inventories fell last week as imports dropped and refineries ran at a slightly faster pace, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Commercial crude oil stocks excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 1.9 million barrels to 422.9 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 26 and were about 3% below the five-year average for the time of year, the EIA said. Crude stocks were expected to have risen by 100,000 barrels, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of analysts.