US crude oil inventories increased by 1.019 million barrels in the week ending September 25th, defying expectations for a 1.9 million-barrel draw. This follows a 1.79 million-barrel build in the previous week. Over the past 24 weeks, commercial crude inventories excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) have declined by 38 million barrels, even as total US crude inventories have risen by nearly 13 million barrels since the start of the year.
During the latest week, an additional 800,000 barrels were released from the SPR, reducing its total holdings to 283.8 million barrels. The SPR is widely considered to have an operational minimum in the 250–300 million barrel range.
Gasoline inventories climbed by 2.99 million barrels, reversing a 2.16 million-barrel draw the week before. Distillate inventories edged down by 286,000 barrels, after a larger 2.16 million-barrel decline in the prior week.
US oil production remained steady at 13.94 million barrels per day in the week ending September 18th, unchanged from the previous week.