By Julianne Geiger – Jun 02, 2026, 3:59 PM CDT
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 6.75 million barrels in the week ending May 29. In the week prior, US crude oil inventories fell by 2.8 million barrels. Analysts had expected a 3.6 million draw.
Despite the sharp dropoff of the last several weeks, US crude inventories have risen by 16 million barrels so far this year, according to API data.
Inventories in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) continue to draw down in an attempt to alleviate the pressure on prices. For week ending May 29, 8 million barrels left the SPR, bringing the new total to 357.1 million barrels—the lowest level since January 2024 and 368 million barrels shy of maximum capacity.
US production rose to 13.715 million bpd for the week ending May 22, up from 13.702 million bpd in the week prior, according to the latest EIA data, and up 314,000 bpd from a year earlier.
At 6:49 am ET on Wednesday, before data release, Brent crude was trading down on the day at $93.88 (-1.12%) as the market remains stubbornly optimistic that the current oil supply imbalance will be rebalanced in relatively short order and as China’s demand for crude slumps. Brent has fallen nearly nearly $2 per barrel since last Tuesday. WTI was also trading down on the day, by $1.03 per barrel (-1.12%) at $92.13, which is a roughly $1.50 dropoff from last Tuesday.
Gasoline inventories saw a build this week of 3.45 million barrels in the week ending May 29. In the week prior, gasoline inventories fell by 3.199 million barrels. As of last week, gasoline inventories were already 6% below the five-year average for this time of year, according to the latest EIA data.
Distillate inventories fell by 214,000 barrels, after shedding 1.1 million barrels in the week prior. Distillate inventories were already 11% below the five-year average as of the week ending May 22, the latest EIA data shows.
Cushing inventory—the inventory kept at the delivery hub for the WTI Crude futures contract—fell by 279,000 barrels over the reporting period after falling 2.875 million barrels in the week prior.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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