USA Crude Oil Stocks Rise Slightly

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), increased by 0.1 million barrels from the week ending August 14 to the week ending August 21.

That’s what the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) highlighted in its latest weekly petroleum status report, which was released on August 26 and included data for the week ending August 21.

This EIA report showed that crude oil stocks, not including the SPR, stood at 428.9 million barrels on August 21, 428.8 million barrels on August 14, and 418.3 million barrels on August 22, 2025. The August 21 figure marked a 0.0 percent week on week change and a 2.5 percent year on year increase, the report showed.

Crude oil in the SPR stood at 289.7 million barrels on August 21, 293.4 million barrels on August 14, and 404.2 million barrels on August 22, 2025, the report outlined. The August 21 figure represented a 1.3 percent week on week decrease and a 28.3 percent year on year decrease, the report highlighted.

“At 428.9 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are one percent above the five-year average for this time of year,” the EIA said in its latest weekly petroleum status report.

“Total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 2.5 million barrels last week and are six percent below the five-year average for this time of year. Both finished gasoline and blending component inventories decreased last week,” it added.

“Distillate fuel inventories decreased by 2.2 million barrels last week and are about 14 percent below the five-year average for this time of year. Propane/propylene inventories increased by 2.5 million barrels from last week and are 32 percent above the five-year average for this time of year,” it continued.

U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 17.4 million barrels per day during the week ending August 21, according to the report, which outlined that this was 1,000 barrels per day less than the previous week’s average.

“Refineries operated at 97.4 percent of their operable capacity last week,” the EIA noted.

“Gasoline production increased last week, averaging 9.8 million barrels per day. Distillate fuel production decreased, averaging 5.1 million barrels per day,” it added.

U.S. crude oil imports averaged 6.2 million barrels per day last week, the EIA highlighted in its report. It pointed out that this was a decrease of 435,000 barrels per day from the previous week.

“Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged about 6.6 million barrels per day, 2.6 percent more than the same four-week period last year,” the EIA said in the report.

“Total motor gasoline imports (including both finished gasoline and gasoline blending components) last week averaged 565,000 barrels per day, and distillate fuel imports averaged 176,000 barrels per day,” it added.

Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged 20.5 million barrels per day, according to the EIA report, which outlined that this was down by 3.0 percent from the same period last year.

“Over the past four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied averaged 8.9 million barrels per day, down by 1.1 percent from the same period last year,” the EIA stated in the report.

“Distillate fuel product supplied averaged 3.8 million barrels per day over the past four weeks, down by 2.2 percent from the same period last year. Jet fuel product supplied was down 2.3 percent compared with the same four-week period last year,” it added.

In a market quick take posted on Saxo Bank’s website on Thursday, the bank noted that U.S. inventory data “highlighted continued stress in refined products, with gasoline stocks falling to their lowest seasonal level since 2012 and diesel inventories to a record low, just ahead of the winter demand season”.

Naeem Aslam, CIO Zaye Capital Markets, pointed out in a market analysis sent to Rigzone yesterday that U.S. commercial crude inventories “increased only 95,000 barrels last week, while the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by another 3.7 million barrels to 289.7 million barrels, leaving the emergency stockpile historically low”.

According to data on the EIA website displaying weekly U.S. ending stocks of crude oil in the SPR, which includes data from August 1982 to August 2026 and was last updated on August 26, the last time these stocks were lower than the 289.7 million barrel mark was on November 19, 1982, when they came in at 286.3 million barrels.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com