Crude oil stocks in the United States dropped significantly this week, decreasing by 4.44 million barrels for the week ending July 12, as reported by The American Petroleum Institute (API).
The API had previously noted a 1.9 million barrel decline in crude inventories the week before. This marks the third consecutive week of inventory decreases estimated by API, totaling a reduction of 15.5 million barrels.
On Tuesday, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil stocks in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) increased by 0.6 million barrels as of July 12, bringing total inventories to 373.7 million barrels—the highest since December 2022, yet still below the 656 million barrels in June 2020.
Ahead of the API data release on Tuesday, oil prices saw significant declines. At 04:11 pm ET, Brent crude traded down $1.04 (-1.23%) to $83.81 per barrel—down approximately $1 compared to the previous week. The U.S. benchmark WTI also declined by $1.08 (-1.32%) to $80.83 per barrel—nearly $1 lower than the previous week.
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Gasoline inventories increased slightly this week by 365,000 barrels, following a decrease of 3 million barrels last week. As of recent data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline inventories are 1% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Meanwhile, distillate inventories rose by 4.92 million barrels this week, adding to the 2.3 million barrel increase from the previous week. According to the latest EIA data, distillates were approximately 8% below the five-year average as of July 5.
Cushing inventories, according to API data, decreased by 746,000 barrels this week, following a drop of 1.2 million barrels the week before.