US Crude Inventories Fall as Distillate Supplies Remain Flat

U.S. commercial crude oil stockpiles fell by 3.2 million barrels to 424.1 million barrels during the week ending October 2, according to the latest report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Despite the decline, domestic crude inventories remain 1% higher than the five-year average for this period.

The government’s findings showed a larger drawdown than the 2.09 million-barrel decrease reported by the American Petroleum Institute (API) a day earlier.

Following the report, oil prices trended upward on Wednesday morning. Brent crude rose by $1.21 (1.20%) to $101.79 per barrel, though it remained about $1.50 lower than the previous week. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed $0.48 (0.54%) to $89.92 per barrel, down roughly $0.80 from the same time last week.

In refined products, gasoline inventories gained 400,000 barrels, reversing a 1.7 million-barrel drop from the prior week, with daily production averaging 9.3 million barrels. Distillate stockpiles held steady, supported by a daily production average of 5.3 million barrels, though total distillate inventories remain 12% below the five-year average.

Over the past four weeks, overall U.S. oil demand, measured by total products supplied, averaged 21.1 million barrels per day—a 0.7% increase compared to last year. During this same period, gasoline demand averaged 8.8 million barrels per day, while distillate demand fell 1.6% year-over-year to 3.8 million barrels per day.