US Crude Oil Inventories Drop the Most Since August 2023

US crude oil inventories rose by 1.786 million barrels in the week ending September 18th, following a substantial 7.14 million-barrel increase in the previous week and compared with forecasts for a 500,000-barrel draw. Cushing inventories rose by 2.082 million barrels, after falling by 246,000 barrels in the previous week. Gasoline inventories fell by 2.16 million barrels, while distillate inventories declined by 2.164 million barrels. Meanwhile, another 400,000 barrels left the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to support commercial inventories, bringing total SPR holdings to 284.6 million barrels.

US crude oil inventories rose sharply by 7.14 million barrels in the week ending September 11th, following a 300,000-barrel decline in the previous week. Commercial crude inventories excluding the SPR have fallen by just over 41 million barrels over the past 22 weeks, while total US crude inventories are up nearly 10 million barrels year to date. Another 400,000 barrels were released from the SPR during the week, bringing total SPR holdings to 285 million barrels. The generally accepted operational minimum for the SPR is between 250 million and 300 million barrels. Cushing inventories fell by 246,000 barrels, following a 300,000-barrel decline the previous week. US production rose to 13.947 million bpd in the week ending September 4th, from 13.862 million bpd a week earlier. Gasoline inventories increased by 1.46 million barrels, while distillate inventories gained 1.61 million barrels.

US crude oil inventories fell by 300,000 barrels in the week ended September 4th, following a 2.6 million-barrel decline in the previous week. Commercial crude inventories excluding the SPR have fallen by just over 48 million barrels over the past 21 weeks, while US crude inventories are up 2.8 million barrels year to date. Another 1.2 million barrels were released from the SPR to support commercial inventories, bringing total SPR holdings to 285.4 million barrels. The generally accepted operational minimum is 250-300 million barrels. Cushing inventories fell by 300,000 barrels after rising by 200,000 barrels the previous week. US production rose to 13.862 million bpd in the week ended August 28th, from 13.843 million bpd. Gasoline inventories fell by 1.9 million barrels, while distillate inventories rose by 2 million barrels.