HOUSTON, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. crude oil imports increased but exports decreased during the week ending July 29, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report released on Wednesday.
U.S. crude oil imports averaged 7.342 million barrels per day (b/d) last week, up 1.178 million b/d from the previous week, while crude oil exports averaged 3.512 million b/d, down 1.036 million b/d from the previous week, according to the Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.675 million b/d, up 1.7 percent from the same four-week period last year.
During the same period, crude oil exports averaged about 3.711 million b/d, up 36.4 percent year on year.
The United States has been one of the world's important oil producers in past years with the help of its shale oil production growth. ■