Washington, June 1 (SANA) U.S. crude oil exports rose to an unprecedented level in May, driven by increased demand from Asian and European refineries following the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran that broke out on February 28, ship-tracking data showed Monday.
Data from analytics firm Kepler, reported by Reuters, showed that U.S. crude exports jumped to a record 5.6 million barrels per day in May, surpassing the previous record of 5.2 million bpd set in April.
The increase coincided with U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude trading at a significant discount to Brent crude, the data showed. The average price spread in April, when May cargoes were booked, was about $8.86 per barrel, compared with an average of $4.85 before the war.
U.S. supplies to Asian and European markets reached unprecedented levels, with Asia topping the list of buyers for the second consecutive month at 2.45 million bpd, followed closely by Europe at 2.4 million bpd.
Matt Smith, head of commodities research at Kepler, attributed the shift to a shortage of oil supplies from the Gulf region due to the war, making U.S. crude more economically attractive to foreign buyers because of its large price discount to global benchmark Brent.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Thursday that U.S. inventories of crude oil, gasoline and distillates fell markedly last week amid rising demand, as global oil prices jumped more than 3% following renewed tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.
KhA
