US oil inventories down by more than 4M barrels last week: API

Oil tanks

US crude oil inventories fell by 4.02 million barrels last week, while stocks at the Cushing delivery center – the largest storage center in the US – decreased by 3.1 million barrels, data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed.

Gasoline stocks jumped by 7.3 million barrels during the week ended Jan. 3, while distillate stocks – which include diesel and heating oil – rose by about 3.2 million barrels.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures for March delivery rose 1%, or 75 cents, to close at $77.05 a barrel on Jan. 7.

WTI crude futures for February delivery added 0.95%, or 69 cents, to $74.25 a barrel.