Gold Prices Fall Amid Rate Jitters; Copper Steady as China Stimulus Eyed 
Here are some key charts based on data from the United States’ Energy Information Agency’s (EIA) latest report that explains the level of inventories, refinery demand, and production.
- Chart 1 shows crude oil production in the United States which has reached an all-time high. It reached a new all-time high of 11 million barrels per day, for the last two weeks.
- Chart 2 shows the level of U.S. distillate inventories. It has been rising lately after a rapid decline in 2017. According to the latest report, the inventory declined to 121.2 million barrels.
- U.S. oil imports have been declining over the past couple of year. However, it has gone up rapidly in recent times thanks to higher refinery demand. Last week, it declined sharply to 7.77 million barrels per day. It has been showing a lot of volatility lately.
- Chart 4 shows the level of U.S. crude oil exports, which rose last week to 2.68 million barrels per day. It reached a record high of 3 million barrels per day, last month.
- Chart 5 shows U.S. refinery operating at 93.8 percent capacity, down from its highest level in more than a decade.
- Chart 6 shows the level of crude oil inventories, which has declined around 130 million barrels since its peak in April 2017. Inventories declined last week to 404.9 million barrels.
