Mubasher:  US crude oil inventories dropped by 9.6 million barrels to 439.5 million barrels in the week ended 15 March, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.

Total motor gasoline inventories dropped by 4.6 million barrels, while distillate fuel stockpiles declined 4.1 million barrels.

US crude refinery runs reached an average of 16.2 million barrels per day (bpd) during the week, 178,000 bpd higher than the previous week’s average, as refineries operated at 88.9% of their operating capacity last week.

US crude imports rose 186,000 to an average of 6.9 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 dipped 0.19% to $58.92 per barrel (pb), while global benchmark Brent futures inched down 0.03% to $67.59 pb.