Inventories of U.S. oil continued to decline early in 2022 – extending a trend that developed last year – as petroleum demand climbed and production ticked down, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday.

For the week ended Jan. 7, domestic commercial crude inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, decreased by 4.6 million bbl from the previous week. At 413.3 million bbl, U.S. stocks are 8% below the five-year average, EIA said in its latest Weekly Petroleum Status Report.

The decline reflects steady demand growth over the past several months that extended into January. Consumption of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel all have recovered substantial ground over the past year – following the pandemic-induced demand destruction of 2020 –...