Key facts
- US crude oil inventories decreased by an estimated 300,000 barrels in the week ending September 4.
- The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) released 1.2 million barrels from its reserves.
- US crude production increased to 13.862 million barrels per day.
- Gasoline inventories declined by 1.9 million barrels.
- Distillate inventories increased by 2 million barrels.
- Brent crude prices rose above $101 per barrel, and WTI crude surpassed $96 per barrel.
Crude oil prices climbed on Wednesday, with Brent crude trading above $101 per barrel and WTI surpassing $96, as the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a slight decrease in U.S. crude oil inventories for the week ending September 4. The API estimated a draw of 300,000 barrels, following a more significant 2.6 million barrel decrease in the prior week. Commercial crude inventories have seen substantial draws over the past 21 weeks, totaling over 48 million barrels, though year-to-date inventories are up 2.8 million barrels, partly due to releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).
For the week in question, an additional 1.2 million barrels were released from the SPR, bringing its total holdings to 285.4 million barrels, which is 446 million barrels below maximum capacity. The operational minimum for the SPR is generally considered to be between 250-300 million barrels. U.S. crude production saw a modest increase, rising to 13.862 million barrels per day for the week ending August 28, up from 13.843 million barrels per day the previous week and significantly higher than the 423,000 bpd increase from a year earlier.
Gasoline inventories fell by 1.9 million barrels during the reporting week, continuing a trend where they were already 6% below the five-year average. Distillate inventories, however, gained 2 million barrels, though they remain 14% below the five-year average. Inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery hub for WTI futures, decreased by 300,000 barrels.
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