The United States’ crude oil inventories — excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — declined by 9.9 million bbl last week as imports fell and demand was met increasingly with domestic supplies, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

In its Weekly Petroleum Status Report for the period ended Jan. 22, EIA said that, at 476.7 million bbl, oil inventories were still 5% above the five-year average for this time of year. This reflected demand drops in 2020 in the wake of coronavirus outbreaks and travel restrictions that cut deeply into transportation fuel needs and, by extension, oil demand.

However, the 2% week/week decline in the latest EIA covered period marked the steepest drop in oil inventories since July of last year.  

EIA noted oil imports...