HOUSTON, July 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. crude oil imports decreased while exports increased during the week ending July 21, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report released on Wednesday.

       U.S. crude oil imports averaged 6.367 million barrels per day (b/d) last week, down by 807,000 b/d from the previous week, while crude oil exports averaged 4.591 million b/d, up by 777,000 b/d from the previous week, according to the Weekly Petroleum Status Report.

       Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.615 million b/d, up by 1.0 percent from the same four-week period last year.

       During the same period, crude oil exports averaged about 3.613 million b/d, up by 3.6 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.