Data issued by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed a sudden decline in Iraqi oil exports to the United States during the past week.

The data showed that the average US imports of crude oil during the past week from eight major countries amounted to about 4.69 million barrels per day, a sharp decrease of 1.09 million barrels per day compared to the previous week. Oil imports reached 5.78 million barrels per day.

Iraqi oil exports declined significantly, reaching only 93,000 barrels per day during the past week, recording a huge decrease of 83,000 barrels per day compared to the previous week, which witnessed Iraq shipping 176,000 barrels per day to the United States.

According to the data, Canada dominated the US oil import market during the past week, with its average imports reaching 3.45 million barrels per day, followed by Mexico with 303 thousand barrels per day, and Brazil with 272 thousand barrels per day.

The United States imported 265 thousand barrels per day from Saudi Arabia, 132 thousand barrels per day from Nigeria, 102 thousand barrels per day from Ecuador, and 66 thousand barrels per day from Libya.

The data drew the attention of observers to the complete absence of Russian oil from US imports during the past week. It did not import any quantities of Russian or Colombian crude.

This sudden decline in Iraqi oil exports to the United States raises many questions about the reasons behind it, especially with the continued strong demand for oil in global markets.