EIA: US crude stocks plunged to multi-year low on refinery run surge
US commercial crude inventories plunged by 7.2 million barrels in the week ending July 24 to 404.5 million barrels—their lowest level since 2018—as refiners accelerated operations to meet peak summer demand
US commercial crude inventories plunged by 7.2 million barrels in the week ending July 24 to 404.5 million barrels—their lowest level since 2018—as refiners accelerated operations to meet peak summer demand, pulling commercial stocks 6% below the five-year average. The draw vastly surpassed market expectations for a modest 1.3-million-barrel decline.
Refinery crude inputs rose 271,000 bpd to average 17.3 million bpd, lifting operable capacity utilization up 1.1 percentage points to a robust 97.2%. On the trade ledger, crude exports edged up 114,000 bpd to 3.47 million bpd, while imports fell 124,000 bpd to 5.7 million bpd. Domestic crude production held virtually flat at 13.8 million bpd, while Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) volumes contracted another 3.8 million barrels to 307.7 million barrels.
Downstream product balances showed notable divergence. Total motor gasoline stocks held unchanged at 211.3 million barrels—7% below the five-year average—even as finished gasoline production surged to 9.9 million bpd. Distillate fuel oil inventories added 1.1 million barrels to reach 110.6 million barrels, keeping stocks roughly 10% beneath historical baselines. Meanwhile, propane/propylene inventories jumped 2.5 million barrels to 102.3 million barrels, standing 34% above the seasonal average.
The dramatic inventory draw highlights a sharply tightening domestic balance sheet driven by elevated processing rates and persistent structural supply deficits. With Middle East shipping risks reigniting across the Strait of Hormuz and Red Sea chokepoints, depleted US commercial buffers leave physical markets increasingly exposed to renewed export pulls and geopolitical risk premiums.
Written by: Aiman Haikal