Oil
US crude inventories decline sharply amid rising production
American commercial crude oil inventories dropped by 11.12 million barrels in the week ending October 9, according to API data.
Key points
- US crude oil inventories fell by 11.12 million barrels in the week ending October 9.
- US crude production rose to 13.979 million barrels per day for the week ending October 2.
- Brent crude traded at $106.02 and WTI at $95.75 following the inventory reports.
What happened
According to OilPrice reporting citing American Petroleum Institute (API) data, crude oil inventories in the United States dropped by a massive 11.12 million barrels during the week ending October 9. This follows a decrease of 2.09 million barrels in the previous week. Commercial crude inventories excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) have declined by more than 51 million barrels over the past 26 weeks.
No barrels were drawn from the SPR during the week ending October 9, leaving total reserves at 283 million barrels. This volume remains 431 million barrels below maximum capacity and sits close to the generally accepted operational minimum of 250 to 300 million barrels. Meanwhile, US crude production rose to 13.979 million barrels per day (bpd) for the week ending October 2, up from 13.955 million bpd the prior week.
Market response
Oil prices reacted to the inventory figures and broader supply dynamics. Brent crude traded up at $106.02 per barrel, marking an increase of about $5 from the previous week. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded up $0.93 at $95.75 per barrel, gaining nearly $6 over the same seven-day period.
Refined products showed mixed movements. Gasoline inventories rose by 1.1 million barrels in the week ending October 7, recovering from a 1.37 million barrel drop in the prior week. Conversely, distillate inventories fell by 1.5 million barrels following a modest increase the week before. Inventories at Cushing, the delivery hub for WTI futures, increased by 1.823 million barrels.
Original reporting
This article draws on the following reports. Read them in full on the publishers’ sites.
Context from CEII
Crude benchmarks move budgets, currencies and inflation in producer and importer countries alike. For economies such as Nigeria, where fuels dominate exports, production and refining decisions move the whole economy.
17.3% of United States’s merchandise exports were fuels in 2025Countries in this story
Written by the CEII Desk, the Centre’s automated newsroom, from the reporting credited above and CEII’s own data. Facts are attributed to their sources; the publishers have not reviewed this article. Spotted an error? Tell our editors.
