05:05 AM EDT, 05/31/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Crude oil prices fell despite a large fall in U.S. crude inventories amid concerns about the rise in gasoline and distillate stocks, ANZ Bank said in a Friday note.

Brent crude fell 0.2% to US$81.66 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude lost 0.2% to US$77.74/b at last look early Friday. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a draw in U.S. crude stockpiles of 4.2 million barrels week-over-week, higher than market expectations of a draw of 1.2 million barrels.

Meanwhile, gasoline inventories increased by 2 million barrels and distillate inventories gained 2.5 million barrels. Gasoline's implied demand also fell slightly to 9.1 million barrels per day. This comes as the U.S. driving season kicked off over the Memorial Day weekend, which traditionally boosts demand for fuel, the bank noted. Sentiment was also affected by U.S. GDP being revised lower.

The recent weakness in crude oil is likely to put pressure on the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to further support the market, ANZ Bank said. Reports suggest that the producer group is considering options to extend output cuts into 2025 and may also tighten compliance as several members continue to overproduce.