Crude oil inventories in the United States fell significantly this week, dropping by 4.44 million barrels for the week ending July 12, according to data from the American Petroleum Institute (API).
This follows a 1.9 million barrel decrease reported the previous week.
OilPrice.com says this week marks the third consecutive week of API-reported inventory draws for crude oil, totaling a loss of 15.5 million barrels over the period.
Meanwhile, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported an increase in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) by 0.6 million barrels as of July 12, bringing the total inventory to 373.7 million barrels.
This is the highest level since December 2022, although it remains significantly lower than the 656 million barrels recorded in June 2020.
Oil prices saw a considerable decline ahead of the API data release on Tuesday. By 4:11 PM ET, Brent crude was down $1.04 (1.23%) at $83.81 per barrel, approximately $1 lower than the previous week.
The U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), also dropped by $1.08 (1.32%) to $80.83 per barrel, nearly $1 less than the prior week.
Gasoline inventories experienced a slight increase this week, rising by 365,000 barrels, following a significant 3-million-barrel decrease last week.
As of last week, gasoline inventories were 1% below the five-year average for this time of year, based on the latest data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Distillate inventories saw a substantial rise of 4.92 million barrels this week, adding to the previous week’s 2.3-million-barrel increase.
Despite this, distillate stocks were still about 8% below the five-year average for the week ending July 5, according to the EIA.
In Cushing, Oklahoma, crude oil inventories fell by 746,000 barrels this week, after a 1.2 million barrel decline the previous week, according to API data.
