American oil inventories decreased by 4,982 million barrels in the week ended May 15, to 526,494 million units, according to data released on Wednesday by the United States Department of Energy (DoE). The expectation of some analysts was high in the period, of 1.4 million barrels.

In the same interval, gasoline inventories, in turn, increased by 2.830 million barrels, when the expectation was for a decrease of 2.3 million units. These reserves totaled 255.724 million barrels in the week.

Distillate reserves - which include diesel and heating oil - rose by the equivalent of 3.831 million units, exceeding the expectation of an increase of 2.5 million. Distillate stocks in the U.S. totaled 158.832 million barrels last week.

Inventories in Cushing, Oklahoma, the oil distribution center traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), fell by 5.587 million barrels, totaling 56.857 million units.

Refinery use rose to 69.4% in the week, from 67.9% of the previous reading, while demand for gasoline fell by 608 thousand barrels a day, to 6.79 million.