As both domestic and global demand for travel fuels derived from oil builds, domestic crude inventories dropped substantially for a third straight week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday.

Excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, domestic oil inventories for the week ended July 2 decreased by 6.9 million bbl from the previous week, EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report showed.

At 445.5 million bbl, domestic stockpiles were about 7% below the five-year average and 94% below the year-earlier level, when supplies were high amid the pandemic’s crippling effect on travel in 2020. Stocks reached a 2021 low last week.

Motor gasoline inventories decreased by 6.1 million bbl last week and were 2% below the five-year average.

Total...