Washington: The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced on Wednesday a significant decline in U.S. crude oil inventories during the past week.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the EIA, the statistical arm of the U.S. Department of Energy, said in a statement that crude oil stocks fell by 6.9 million barrels after rising by one million barrels in the previous week. Total inventories now stand at 416 million barrels, about 6% below the five-year average for this time of year.

The administration added that gasoline inventories dropped by 5.9 million barrels, about 3% below the five-year average, while distillate fuel stocks, including heating oil and diesel, declined by 3.4 million barrels, remaining roughly 8% below their five-year average.