Mubasher: US crude oil stockpiles dropped by 3.9 million barrels to 449.1 million barrels in the week ended 8 March, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.

Total motor gasoline inventories dropped by 4.6 million barrels, while distillate fuel stockpiles rose 400,000 barrels.

US crude refinery runs reached an average of 16 million barrels per day (bpd) during the week, 300,000 bpd higher than the previous week’s average, as refineries operated at 87.6% of their operating capacity last week.

US crude imports declined 225,000 to an average of 6.7 million bpd for the same week, compared to the preceding week, the EIA said.     

Following the release of the EIA report, US Nymex crude futures climbed 1.62% to $57.79 per barrel (pb), while global benchmark Brent futures fell 0.78% to $67.19 pb.