U.S. crude oil inventories declined for three consecutive weeks, while gasoline and distillate inventories rose; Venezuelan crude imports hit a near 10-year high.

According to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories fell for the third week in a row, while gasoline and distillate inventories increased. The EIA reported that, for the week ending September 11, commercial crude oil inventories—excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)—declined by 640,000 barrels to 423.4 million barrels, which is 1% above the five-year average for this time of year. This decline was smaller than the market expectation of a 1.4-million-barrel drawdown. SPR inventories decreased by 403,000 barrels to 285 million barrels. Crude oil inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma—the delivery hub for NYMEX—fell by 342,000 barrels to 21.5 million barrels. Gasoline inventories rose by 794,000 barrels to 207.7 million barrels—5% below the five-year average—and daily gasoline demand increased by 247,000 barrels to 8.8 million barrels per day. Markets had expected a 800,000-barrel drawdown in gasoline inventories. Distillate fuel inventories increased by 1.6 million barrels to 107.9 million barrels—13% below the five-year average.

U.S. crude oil and major refined product inventories have fallen to their lowest level since 1990.

According to the latest EIA data, total U.S. inventories of crude oil and major refined products continue to decline. When combining crude oil—including the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)—gasoline, distillates, and jet fuel, this aggregate inventory stood at approximately 1.139 billion barrels as of June 5, 2026. Based on comparable weekly EIA data, this represents the lowest level since 1990. It should be noted that this is not an official single inventory metric published directly by the EIA, but rather a composite measure aggregating crude oil (including SPR) and major refined product inventories—offering a more holistic view of overall inventory buffers within the U.S. energy system. Currently, U.S. crude oil inventories—including SPR—stand at 775.677 million barrels, comprising 426.485 million barrels of commercial crude oil and 349.192 million barrels of SPR. Gasoline inventories total 215.141 million barrels; distillate inventories, 102.101 million barrels; and jet fuel inventories, 46.15 million barrels. The sum of these four components is approximately 1.139069 billion barrels.