U.S. crude stockpiles were expected to have fallen last week, while distillate and gasoline inventories likely rose, an extended Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.
Seven analysts polled by Reuters estimated on average that crude inventories fell by about 2.7 million barrels in the week to Dec. 22.
The poll was conducted ahead of reports from the American Petroleum Institute industry group, due at 4:30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT) on Wednesday, and the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, due at 11:00 a.m. EST (1600 GMT) on Thursday, delayed by a day due to the Christmas holiday on Monday.ò
Crude inventories rose by 2.9 million barrels in the week to Dec. 15 to 443.7 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.3 million-barrel drop.
(Reporting by Daksh Grover in Bengaluru; editing by Barbara Lewis)