US crude inventories build by 2.69 million barrels against expectations as the strategic reserve hits a 43 year low

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that US crude oil inventories rose by 2.69 million barrels in the week ending 30 July 2026, against analyst expectations for a 2 million barrel draw. In the previous week, US crude inventories had fallen by 3.3 million barrels.

According to API data, commercial crude inventories excluding the strategic reserve have lost just over 58 million barrels over the last sixteen weeks, yet total US crude inventories are down only 7.2 million barrels for the year, kept in check by draws from the strategic reserve. In the week ending 31 July another 2.9 million barrels left the reserve, bringing the total to 304.8 million barrels, the lowest level in more than 43 years and 427 million barrels short of maximum capacity. The generally accepted operational minimum for the reserve is between 250 and 300 million barrels.

US production in the week ending 24 July was 13.796 million barrels per day, slightly below the 13.798 million of the prior week and 482,000 bpd higher than a year earlier. Gasoline inventories rose by 156,000 barrels while distillate inventories fell by 1.2 million barrels. At 2:11 pm US Eastern time on Tuesday 13 Mordad, Brent crude was trading down 5.41% at $79.24 and West Texas Intermediate down 5.75% at $75.97 per barrel.