Oil drops over 2%; Brent below $74

Oil prices deepened their losses today, Sept. 25, despite a 4.5 million barrel decline in US commercial crude inventories during the week ending Sept. 20. 

Brent crude futures for November delivery slumped 2.25%, or $1.71, to close at $73.46 a barrel. 

WTI crude futures for November delivery fell 2.6%, or $1.87, to $69.69 per barrel. 

The US Energy Information Administration data revealed that gasoline and distillate inventories decreased by 1.5 million and 2.2 million barrels, respectively. However, refinery inputs of crude oil decreased by 124,000 barrels per day from the average of the previous week. 

US crude inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub—the largest storage center in the US—rose by 100,000 barrels to 22.8 million barrels last week. 

Weekly data showed US crude production held steady at 13.2 million barrels per day, with crude imports rising 135,000 barrels per day to 6.5 million barrels per day and exports falling 692,000 barrels per day to 3.9 million barrels per day.