HOUSTON, March 22 -- Both U.S. crude oil imports and exports decreased during the week ending March 17, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report released on Wednesday.

U.S. crude oil imports averaged 6.172 million barrels per day (b/d) last week, down by 45,000 b/d from the previous week, while crude oil exports averaged 4.932 million b/d, down by 95,000 b/d from the previous week, according to the Weekly Petroleum Status Report.

Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.217 million b/d, down by 0.4 percent from the same four-week period last year.

During the same period, crude oil exports averaged about 4.738 million b/d, up by 45.8 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.

  - Xinhua