: EIA reports a weekly drop of more than 6 million barrels in U.S. crude supplies

The Energy Information Administration on Thursday reported that U.S. commercial crude inventories fell by 6.3 million barrels for the week ended Sept. 1. On average, analysts polled by S&P Global Commodity Insights expected the report to show a decrease of 5.6 million barrels. The EIA report, which released data a day later than usual due to Monday’s Labor Day holiday, revealed a supply decline of 2.7 million barrels for gasoline, while distillate stockpiles edged up by 700,000 barrels. Analysts had forecast weekly inventory declines of 840,000 barrels for gasoline, while distillate stockpiles were seen as holding steady. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Okla., Nymex delivery hub fell by 1.8 million barrels for the week, the EIA said. Oil futures moved slightly lower, with October West Texas Intermediate crude CLV23 down 6 cents, or nearly 0.1%, at $87.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices traded at $87.57 before the supply data.

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