DENVER, April 29 (Reuters) - The United States became a net exporter of crude for the first time since World War Two as the country shipped a record volume of oil to refiners scrambling for supplies after the Iran war, leading to large drops in domestic inventories, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Europe and Asia have increasingly become dependent on crude from the Americas after the U.S. and Israel's war on Iran triggered the largest-ever disruption to the global energy market and halted shipping via the Strait of Hormuz, which handles a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies.
Total U.S. crude exports climbed to a record 6.44 million barrels per day, marking a 1.64 million bpd rise from the week prior.
Oil futures extended gains following the report. Global Brent crude futures were up $8.11 at $119.37 a barrel at 12:35 p.m. ET (1635 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were up $7.06 a barrel at $106.91.
Net imports of crude oil (USOICI=ECI), or the difference between imports and exports, fell by 1.97 million bpd to minus 688,000 bpd, the first time it turned negative on a weekly basis, meaning outflows surpassed imports. On an annual basis, the U.S. was last a net exporter of crude in 1943, while on a monthly basis, the country was last a net exporter in 1944.
The large exports pushed U.S. crude inventories down by 6.2 million barrels to 459.5 million barrels in the week ended April 24, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 231,000-barrel draw. Crude stocks at the Cushing,
Oklahoma, delivery hub (USOICC=ECI), dropped by 796,000 barrels in the week, the EIA said.
'BARRELS GOING OVERSEAS'
"Refineries didn't change. Domestic production was unchanged. It was all about the export numbers. Those barrels are going overseas rather than into storage," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho.
Total exports of crude oil and petroleum products also touched a record 14.18 million bpd, up 1.298 million bpd from the week prior.
U.S. gasoline stocks (USOILG=ECI), fell by 6.1 million barrels in the week to 222.3 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.1 million-barrel draw. That marked the 11th straight week of draws, raising some concerns about fuel stocks as U.S. driving season looms.
U.S. gasoline futures rose over 5% to $3.74, touching their highest price since 2022.
Distillate stockpiles (USOILD=ECI), which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 4.5 million barrels in the week to 103.6 million barrels, versus expectations for a 2.2 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.
"With refinery runs still in check, solid draws were seen to both gasoline and distillate inventories," said Matt Smith, an analyst with ship tracking firm Kpler.
Refinery crude runs (USOICR=ECI), rose by 84,000 barrels per day in the week, the EIA said, while utilization rates (USOIRU=ECI), opens new tab increased by 0.5 percentage point in the week to 89.6%.
Product supplied, a proxy for demand, rose by 1.4 million bpd to 21.13 million bpd.
Reporting by Liz Hampton in Denver and Arathy Somasekhar in Houston; Editing by Rod Nickel
