HOUSTON, June 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. crude oil imports decreased while exports increased during the week ending June 13, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report released on Wednesday.

U.S. crude oil imports averaged 5.504 million barrels per day (b/d) last week, down by 672,000 b/d from the previous week, while crude oil exports averaged 4.361 million b/d, up by 1.075 million b/d from the previous week, according to the Weekly Petroleum Status Report.

Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.094 million b/d, down by 16.5 percent from the same four-week period last year.

During the same period, crude oil exports averaged about 3.964 million b/d, down by 2.9 percent from the same four-week period last year, according to the report.

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. ■