U.S. Crude Oil Inventories Fall for Third Straight Week

U.S. crude oil inventories dropped for the third week in a row, surprising analysts. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that commercial crude oil stocks, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 4.9 million barrels to 440.2 million barrels in the week ending July 12. This represents a decrease of about 5% compared to the five-year average for this time of year. However, stocks of gasoline and distillates increased during the same period.