US monthly crude oil exports fell to an average 364,000 barrels a day in January, the first full month of unfettered shipments since the nation repealed its 40-year-old trade restrictions on the commodity. January’s cargoes, totaling about 11.3 million barrels, marked a 7% decline from US crude exports in December, according to Bloomberg calculations from data released by the US Census Bureau, Bloomberg reported. Shipments during the first month of 2016 went to Curacao and France, in addition to Canada, the primary destination. US crude exports reached a record 586,000 barrels a day in April 2015, according to the Energy Information Administration. Shipments include all grades of crude, including condensate "derived wholly from natural gas", according to the Census Bureau’s classification system. Prior to the US repealing its trade restrictions on crude exports in December, the nation allowed cargoes to Canada and occasionally to other nations, subject to strict licensing requirements. Though those limits are no longer in place, US crude shipments are hitting a global market in which supply has overwhelmed demand.
