Data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday showed a significant drop in US crude oil inventories last week, attributed to decreased imports and increased exports, while refined product stockpiles fell more than anticipated.

The EIA reported that for the week ending February 13, commercial crude inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), decreased by 9 million barrels to 419.8 million barrels. This level is approximately 5% below the five-year average for this time of year. A survey of analysts had indicated market expectations for an inventory increase of 1.1 million barrels.

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) saw an increase of 229,000 barrels, reaching 415.4 million barrels. Meanwhile, crude stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery hub for NYMEX crude futures, declined by 1.1 million barrels to 24 million barrels.

The EIA estimated that US crude oil production averaged 13.7 million barrels per day, an increase of 22,000 barrels from the previous week. Average daily crude imports fell by 281,000 barrels to 6.5 million barrels per day, while average daily exports rose by 851,000 barrels to 4.6 million barrels per day.

Refinery utilization rates increased to 91%, up from 89.4% the prior week. Refiners' average daily crude input rose by 77,000 barrels to 16.1 million barrels per day. Market surveys had anticipated refinery utilization rates to rise by only 0.2 percentage points.

Gasoline inventories decreased by 3.2 million barrels to 255.8 million barrels, marking the first decline in 14 weeks. Gasoline stocks remain about 3% above the five-year average for this period. Average daily gasoline demand increased by 448,000 barrels to 8.7 million barrels per day. The market had expected a smaller gasoline inventory draw of 700,000 barrels.

Distillate fuel inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 4.6 million barrels to 120.1 million barrels. This places distillate stocks about 5% below the five-year average for this time of year. Analysts had forecast a smaller decline of 1.4 million barrels.