US Crude Oil Stocks Update

The American Petroleum Institute (API) has reported an increase in US crude oil stocks, estimating them at 2,499 million barrels for the week ending May 16. This rise contrasts with analysts’ expectations of a decrease of 185 million barrels. Last week, the API noted an inventory bump of 4,287 million barrels.

So, it turns out crude oil stocks have climbed over 25 million barrels recently, based on API data calculations.

Earlier this week, the Department of Energy (DOE) shared that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) crude oil levels have also risen to 900,000 barrels. The total stands at 405 million barrels for the week ending May 16. While this figure is still below the hundreds of millions stored before withdrawals began under the Biden administration, the increase in recent weeks has been quite notable.

As of 4:20 PM ET, Brent crude saw a slight increase, rising $0.12 (+0.18%) to settle at $65.66, although it reflects a $1 drop compared to the previous week.

Meanwhile, WTI experienced a slight decline, trading down $0.07 (-0.11%) at $62.62.

Gasoline stocks fell to 32.38 million barrels for the week ending May 16, which comes after a drop of 1,374 million barrels the week before. Notably, gasoline stocks were already about 3% lower than the five-year average for this time of year.

Additionally, distilled stocks dipped by 14.01 million barrels this week, following a decline of 3.675 million barrels the prior week. According to the latest EIA data, distilled stocks are already 16% below the five-year average, which is quite significant.

For Cushing Inventory—this is where benchmark crude is stored and traded via US futures contracts—the API reported a total of 443,000 barrels, down from 850,000 barrels last week.