US crude oil exports in April reach record 586,000 bpd

[NEW YORK] US crude oil exports in April reached a record high of 586,000 barrels per day, foreign trade data showed on Wednesday.

April's exports, which were some 169,000 bpd higher than the previous month, were the highest recorded since data was available in 1920 from the US Energy Information Administration. This surpasses a previous 502,000 bpd record in November.

Meanwhile, a record 492,000 bpd were exported to Canada, compared with the 378,000 bpd in March, US Census Bureau's foreign trade data showed.

Other exports went to China, South Korea, the Netherlands and Spain, the data showed.

A US law dating back to the oil shortages of the 1970s generally bars exports of domestically produced crude, but shipments to Canada are broadly allowed, as are re-exports of foreign oil. The figures combine domestically produced and re-exported crude oil.

US Census's foreign trade oil data is published weeks earlier than closely-watched US EIA trade figures. The EIA, which bases its numbers on the Census data, will release its monthly crude figures at the end of the month.

REUTERS