Key facts
- US crude oil inventories fell by an estimated 2.6 million barrels in the week ending August 28.
- The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) released an additional 3.1 million barrels.
- Commercial crude inventories have decreased by over 48 million barrels in the past twenty weeks.
- US crude production increased to 13.843 million barrels per day for the week ending August 21.
- Both Brent and WTI crude oil prices saw significant gains, trading up approximately 5.9%.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported an estimated decrease of 2.6 million barrels in U.S. crude oil inventories for the week ending August 28. This follows a 4.2 million barrel increase in the previous week. Over the past twenty weeks, commercial crude inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), have declined by more than 48 million barrels. Despite this trend, U.S. crude inventories are up 3.1 million barrels year-to-date, largely due to ongoing draws from the SPR.
For the week ending August 28, an additional 3.1 million barrels were withdrawn from the SPR, bringing its total holdings to 286.6 million barrels. This level is still approximately 445 million barrels below maximum capacity. The generally accepted operational minimum for the SPR is between 250-300 million barrels, below which efficient pumping and processing may become challenging.
U.S. crude production saw a slight increase, rising to 13.843 million barrels per day in the week ending August 21, up from 13.830 million barrels per day in the prior week and 461,000 barrels per day higher than a year earlier.
Gasoline inventories increased by 300,000 barrels in the week ending August 28, contrasting with a 3.2 million barrel decrease in the prior week. Gasoline inventories were already 6% below the five-year average prior to this reporting period. Distillate inventories fell by 300,000 barrels, adding to the 500,000-barrel loss from the previous week, and were 14% below the five-year average. Inventories at Cushing, the delivery hub for WTI futures, rose by 200,000 barrels after a 1 million barrel increase in the prior week.
In commodity trading, Brent crude was trading up 5.9% on the day at $95.28, marking a nearly $7 per barrel gain week-over-week. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude also saw gains, trading up $5.08 per barrel, or 5.92%, at $90.84, nearly $9 per barrel higher than the previous week.