U.S. Crude Inventories Drop as Exports and Refinery Runs Accelerate

Commercial crude stocks now sit at 409.7 million barrels, roughly 6% below the five-year seasonal average. While market analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal anticipated a decline of 900,000 barrels, the reality proved more aggressive. Simultaneously, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve saw a 3 million barrel decrease, marking the smallest weekly withdrawal since early April. At the Nymex delivery hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, inventories bucked the national trend, climbing 430,000 barrels to reach 20 million.

Domestic production remained stable at 13.9 million barrels per day. Refineries accelerated operations to 96.2% of capacity, processing 17.1 million barrels daily. Gasoline inventories also tightened, dropping 1.5 million barrels to 210.5 million, while distillate fuel stocks unexpectedly surged by 4.6 million barrels. Despite the higher output from refineries, gasoline demand held firm at 8.8 million barrels per day.