US Crude Oil Inventories Drop by 8.6 Million Barrels, Boosting WTI Prices

U.S. commercial crude inventories fell by approximately 8.6 million barrels to 415.6 million barrels for the week ended October 9, according to the EIA. The drawdown widely exceeded market forecasts, which had anticipated changes ranging from a 288,000-barrel decline to a 100,000-barrel build. The supply drop was driven by lower imports, higher refinery utilization, and domestic crude output sliding by 300,000 barrels per day to 13.7 million barrels per day. Distillate stocks fell by roughly 2.5 million barrels, while gasoline inventories unexpectedly grew by about 3.5 million barrels. Following the data, WTI crude traded higher at $97.01 per barrel.