HOUSTON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Both U.S. crude oil imports and exports increased during the week ending March 18, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report released on Wednesday.

       U.S. crude oil imports averaged 6.486 million barrels per day (b/d) last week, up by about 92,000 b/d from the previous week, while crude oil exports averaged about 3.844 million b/d, up by about 908,000 b/d from the previous week, according to the Weekly Petroleum Status Report.

       Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.242 million b/d, up by 9.1 percent more than the same four-week period last year.

       During the same period, crude oil exports averaged about 3.250 million b/d, up by 30.2 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.