US crude oil stockpiles fall sharply, DoE says

US crude oil stockpiles fell sharply last week, amid lower imports and rising gasoline inventories.

During the week ending 29 September, commercial US crude oil inventories decreased by 6m barrels from the previous week to reach 465m, according to the Energy Information Administration, the US Department of Energy's statistical arm.

In contrast, gasoline stockpiles increased by 1.6m barrels last week but remained near the upper limit, while those of distillates decreased by 2.6m barrels last week.

Crude imports averaged 7.2m barrels per day last week, down by 213,000 barrels per day from the prior five-day stretch.

Meanwhile, refineries operated at 88.1% of their operating capacity last week.

As of 15:38 BST, front month West Texas Intermediate futures were 0.3% lower to $50.27 per barrel on the ICE.