This week’s petroleum status report from the Energy Information Administration revealed that crude stocks fell by 4 million bbl to 466.6 million bbl last week. While the new level is 32.8 million bbl lower than the level at this time in spring 2018, the step back is a reversal from the previous week that saw crude inventories climb by 10 million bbl. Contributing to the recent reduction in total domestic crude inventories was a slight reduction in domestic crude production to 12.2 million b/d and a drop in crude imports from 7.4 million b/d to 6.7 million b/d. The reduction in crude inventories occurred despite crude exports falling last week from 2.6 million b/d to 2.3 million b/d. If total crude stocks continue to tighten, American motorists will likely see pump prices continue to increase this spring – alongside the global price of crude as tightening supply amid robust global crude demand will increase the price per barrel of oil.