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 is hovering at an all-time high of 11 million barrels per day.
- 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 rose to 130.8 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 to 7.52 million barrels per day, down from 9.03 million barrels per day.
- Chart 4 shows the level of U.S. crude oil exports, which declined last week to 1.15 million barrels per day. It reached a record high of 3 million barrels per day, in June.
- Chart 5 shows U.S. refinery operating at 98.1 percent capacity, which is the fastest pace since 1998.
- Chart 6 shows the level of crude oil inventories, which has declined around 133 million barrels since its peak in April 2017. Inventories declined last week to 408.4 million barrels.
