U.S. crude oil imports increased while exports decreased during the week ending Aug. 14, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday.
U.S. crude oil imports averaged 5.7 million barrels per day (b/d) last week, up by 109,000 b/d from the previous week, while crude oil exports averaged about 2.1 million b/d, down by about 1.0 million b/d from the previous week, according to the Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 5.6 million b/d, down by about 1.6 million b/d year on year, while crude oil exports averaged about 2.8 million b/d, up by about 347,000 b/d year on year.
The United States has been a world important oil producer in the past years with the help of its shale oil production growth. Meanwhile, China has become one of the biggest oil importers.
According to the latest release from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, China imported 51.29 million tonnes of crude oil in July, surging 25 percent year on year.
Editor:Cherie