Key facts
- US crude oil inventories rose by 100,000 barrels in the week ending August 21, per EIA data.
- Gasoline inventories fell by 2.5 million barrels, while distillate inventories increased by 2.2 million barrels.
- Total products supplied, a proxy for US oil demand, decreased 3.0% year over year over the past four weeks.
- The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) released 3.7 million barrels, approaching its operational minimum.
- Commercial crude stockpiles are 1% above the five-year average for this time of year.
Commercial crude oil inventories in the United States increased by 100,000 barrels for the week ending August 21, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). This figure contrasts with the American Petroleum Institute's (API) earlier report of a 4.2 million barrel build. The EIA data brings total commercial stockpiles to 428.9 million barrels, which is 1% above the five-year average for this period.
Gasoline inventories saw a decrease of 2.5 million barrels, while middle distillate inventories rose by 2.2 million barrels. Average daily gasoline production increased to 9.8 million barrels. Distillate inventories are now 14% below the five-year average.
Total products supplied, a proxy for U.S. oil demand, averaged 20.5 million barrels per day over the last four weeks, marking a 3.0% decrease compared to the same period last year. Gasoline demand averaged 8.9 million barrels per day, and distillate demand averaged 3.8 million barrels over the same four-week period, down 2.2% year over year.
Crude futures traded lower on Wednesday morning, with Brent futures down 1.78% to $86.94 per barrel and WTI futures down 1.48% to $81.14 per barrel. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) released 3.7 million barrels, bringing its total holdings to 289.7 million barrels, nearing its operational minimum range of 250-300 million barrels.