According to a note from the US Energy Information Agency (EIA), crude oil inventories fell by 3.4 million barrels (mb) during that period, against a forecast by analysts of a rise of two million.

Thus, with this result, stocks of this fuel stood at 420.8 mb, the EIA also indicated.

The strategic reserves of the United States also fell, by five mb, to their lowest levels in 21 years after the government’s decision to put part of that crude oil on the market to try to contain gasoline prices, said several specialists.

The market had expected a slight rise and there was a decline in commercial stocks, said Andrew Lebow, a partner at Commodity Research Group.

According to the expert, the shrinking of inventories should have pushed up prices. However, the stock market is falling, and that probably played into the course of crude prices, Lebow said.

The prices of the reference oils from the United States and Europe, WTI and Brent, fell today in New York and London by more than two percent, to 109.59 and 109.18 dollars a barrel, respectively, said sources from the markets.

ef/car/rs