- ANZ
US crude oil inventories dropped more than expected last week, official figures revealed on Wednesday. The Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday that US crude stocks fell 2.2M barrels in the week ended April 7, following the preceding week's gain of 1.6M barrels. In the meantime, market analysts anticipated a slighter drop of 700,000 barrels during the reported period. The EIA reported also that refineries produced on average 9.9M barrels of gasoline per day and 5.1M barrels of distillate per day. Furthermore, gasoline inventories dropped 3M barrels last week, boosting market sentiment. Despite a bigger than expected drop in US crude oil inventories, oil prices fell from their five-week highs, reached last week after the United States launched a set of airstrikes against the Syrian government. However, oil prices managed to continue trading above $55. Earlier in the day, OPEC released promising reports that showed that production dropped more than initially expected last month. Nevertheless, OPEC revised up its forecast for supplies from non-member countries in 2017. OPEC and other oil producers agreed in November to cut output by 1.8M barrels per day during the first half of 2017 in order to stabilise the oil market.
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