Published on 6/18/2026
Data from the US Energy Information Administration revealed that crude oil inventories in the United States declined to their lowest levels in more than four decades, in light of the continuing repercussions of the war with Iran on global energy markets and the high demand for American supplies.
The data showed that total US oil inventories, including commercial stocks and strategic oil reserves, decreased by 17.2 million barrels during the past week to reach 758.5 million barrels, the lowest level since March 1985.
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Commercial inventories alone also fell by 8.3 million barrels to 418.2 million barrels, exceeding the expectations of analysts who expected a decline of only about 4.6 million barrels.
The administration said that total US stocks have lost about 96.25 million barrels since the outbreak of the war with Iran, with a number of countries relying on American oil and products to compensate for global supply disruptions.
At Cushing, Oklahoma, the main delivery point for US oil contracts, inventories fell by 1.6 million barrels to 20.03 million barrels, the lowest level since 2014 and approaching operational minimums.
The operating rate of American refineries also rose to 96.7%, which is one of the highest levels recorded in recent years, with the increase in demand for fuel.
High demand
The data showed an increase in total demand for petroleum products by 85 thousand barrels per day, reaching 20.685 million barrels per day.
Gasoline consumption also jumped by 481 thousand barrels per day to 9.21 million barrels per day, while gasoline stocks fell by about 906 thousand barrels to 214.2 million barrels.
In contrast, distillate stocks, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 1 million barrels to reach 103.1 million barrels.
Oil prices reacted to the data with a limited increase, before reducing their gains as markets evaluated the repercussions of the US-Iranian agreement and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, in addition to warnings from the International Energy Agency of the possibility of an excess oil supply during the year 2027 after the recovery of global supplies.
