DENVER — U.S. oil stockpiles plunged last week as surging global demand amid the Iran war turned the United States into a net crude exporter on a weekly basis for the first time on record, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell by 6.2 million barrels to 459.5 million barrels in the week ended April 24, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 231,000-barrel draw. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub dropped by 796,000 barrels in the week, the EIA said.