Urgent: U.S. oil inventories decline more than expected.

Data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration on Friday showed positive results for U.S. oil inventories for the week ending December 20, as the figures were better than market expectations for the third consecutive week.

Oil inventories decreased by 4.2 million barrels during the past week, which was better than the expectations that pointed to a decline of about 2 million barrels. This decrease in U.S. oil inventories follows a decrease of approximately 0.934 million barrels in crude oil inventories during the previous week.

During today's trading, following the release of the data, prices for West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures increased by 1.03% to record $70.30 per barrel, while Brent crude was traded up about 0.98% at $73.53 per barrel.

The markets are paying significant attention to U.S. oil inventory data due to its direct impact on crude oil prices. Additionally, changes in petroleum product prices have noticeable effects on inflation rates, as well as impacting industries that heavily rely on crude oil.