According to estimates of the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), crude oil supplies to the United States from Canada decreased by 541 000 to 3.1 million barrels per day over the previous week, the lowest level over the past two years. At the same time, daily net imports of crude oil to the United States fell by 1.44 million barrels to 741 000 barrels, as reported by Reuters.
The decline in crude inflows is caused by the tariffs imposed on imports of Canadian oil by Donald Trump's administration.
However, crude oil inventories in the United States rose more than forecast last week despite the reduction in imports. Their level increased by 1.7 million barrels and reached 437 million barrels amid record domestic production, which amounted to 13.6 million barrels per day.
In addition, the agency noted reduced refinery utilization and capacity in several parts of the country last week, especially on the East Coast. The overall rate of crude processing at US refineries fell by 45 000 barrels per day during the same period.
Against this news, US oil prices showed moderate growth. Both benchmarks rose by about 0.9% during morning trades.