U.S. Crude Oil Inventory Declines; Weekly Demand Increases But Remains Modest, EIA Says

After jumping a week earlier, domestic oil inventories dropped during the week ended Dec. 11, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday.  

EIA said in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report that U.S. commercial crude oil inventories — excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve — decreased by 3.1 million bbl from the prior week. A week earlier, stockpiles increased by nearly 15.2 million bbl amid robust imports and after light post-Thanksgiving holiday demand, lifting crude storage to its highest level since August.

The latest result “was a nice walk down from last week’s supersized” build, said Robert Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho Securities USA LLC. The prior week increase “threatened to overwhelm storage in a relatively short...