HOUSTON, April 24 (Xinhua) -- U.S. crude oil imports and exports increased during the week ending April 19, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday.
U.S. crude oil imports averaged 6.497 million barrels per day (b/d) last week, up by 36,000 b/d from the previous week, while crude oil exports averaged 5.179 million b/d, up by 453,000 b/d, according to the EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
Over the past four weeks, U.S. crude oil imports averaged about 6.503 million b/d, unchanged from the same four-week period last year; and crude oil exports averaged about 4.159 million b/d, down by 4.2 percent, according to the report.
The United States has been one of the world's important oil producers in the past years with the help of its shale oil production growth.
