Prior was +6156KGasoline -2593K vs -2143K expDistillates +3032K vs -1292K expRefinery utilization +1.5% vs +0.4% exp
The API data from late yesterday:
Crude +2300KGasoline +500K
This report doesn’t matter for the oil market right now. There is something like 9.5 million barrels of oil per day shut in officially right now and 15 mbpd that can’t get through the Strait of Hormuz
For background, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) publishes its Weekly Petroleum Status Report every Wednesday, typically at 10:30 AM Eastern Time. This report provides a comprehensive snapshot of U.S. petroleum supply and demand, covering crude oil inventories, refinery utilization rates, product supplied (a proxy for demand), and import/export volumes. The data is collected from surveys of refiners, pipeline operators, and bulk terminal operators across the country.
The crude oil inventory figure is the headline number that moves markets. It measures the total barrels of commercial crude held in storage at facilities like the Cushing, Oklahoma hub, which serves as the delivery point for the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures contract. When inventories rise more than analysts expect, it typically signals oversupply and puts downward pressure on prices. Conversely, a larger-than-expected draw suggests tighter supply conditions and tends to push prices higher.
Traders, analysts, and policymakers watch this report closely because the United States remains the world’s largest oil consumer and producer. Changes in U.S. stockpiles offer real-time insight into the balance between global supply and demand that monthly reports from OPEC or the International Energy Agency cannot capture with the same frequency.
The report also tracks gasoline and distillate (diesel and heating oil) inventories, which are critical for gauging seasonal demand patterns — gasoline during the summer driving season and distillates heading into winter. Refinery run rates indicate how aggressively the processing sector is converting crude into finished products, providing another layer of context for understanding price direction and market sentiment.
This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.