U.S. Crude Oil Inventories See Extended Slump

(RTTNews) - Crude oil inventories in the U.S. saw another significant decrease in the week ended June 20th, according to a report released by the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.

The EIA said crude oil inventories tumbled by 5.8 million barrels last week after plummeting by 11.5 million barrels in the previous week. Economists had expected crude oil inventories to edge down by 0.6 million barrels.

At 415.1 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 11 percent below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said.

The report said gasoline inventories also fell by 2.1 million barrels last week and are about 3 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.

Distillate fuel inventories, which include heating oil and diesel, also slumped by 4.1 million barrels last week and are about 20 percent below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said.