Crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 1.44 million barrels in the week ending December 27, according to private data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) released Tuesday. The decline was smaller than the expected 3 million barrels and the 3.2-million-barrel drop recorded the previous week.
Reserves at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub rose by 305,000 barrels, while gasoline inventories increased by 2.16 million barrels. Distillate stockpiles saw a rise of 5.72 million barrels.