U.S. crude oil imports increased while exports decreased during the week ending June 18, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday.

U.S. crude oil imports averaged 6.9 million barrels per day (b/d) last week, up by about 197,000 b/d from the previous week, while crude oil exports averaged about 3.7 million b/d, down by about 233,000 b/d from the previous week, according to the Weekly Petroleum Status Report.

Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.5 million b/d, down by about 67,000 b/d year on year, while crude oil exports averaged about 3.3 million b/d, up by about 540,000 b/d year on year.

The United States has become a major oil producer in the past years with the help of its shale oil production growth. Meanwhile, China has become one of the biggest oil importers.

According to the latest release from the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, China imported 40.97 million tonnes of crude oil in May, down 14.6 percent year on year.
Source: Xinhua