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In the most recent Weekly Petroleum Status Report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), US commercial crude inventories fell by 1.5 million barrels to 447 million barrels, which is around 3% less than the five-year average for this time of year.

The country produced an average of 13.1 million barrels of crude oil per day during the week, indicating a reduction of 100,000 bpd from the week before.

Refineries continued to ramp up operating rates following the maintenance schedules and to prepare for the summer driving season ahead. The report showed utilization rates rose to 86.8% compared to 84.9% in the previous week.

Still, total motor gasoline inventories fell more than expected by 5.7 million barrels, signalling the return of demand. The figure stoked some concerns among industry insiders on a possible undersupplied market.