EIA Data Shows Slumping U.S. Oil Demand Amid Inventory Decline
U.S. crude oil inventories saw a significant drop of 4.5 million barrels for the week ending August 28, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). This brings total commercial stockpiles to 424.5 million barrels, which is approximately 1% above the five-year seasonal average.
The decline in inventories comes as crude futures face pressure during trading sessions. Brent crude slipped $0.64, or 0.68%, to $94.01 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell $0.98 per barrel, or 1.09%, to trade at $89.24.
Total products supplied, a proxy for U.S. oil demand, averaged 20.4 million barrels per day over the most recent four-week period, down 4% year-over-year. Gasoline demand averaged 8.9 million barrels per day, while distillate demand averaged 3.7 million barrels per day, both falling compared to the prior year.
Gasoline inventories, however, bucked the trend by rising by 300,000 barrels for the week ending August 28. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) continued to be drawn upon, with another 3.1 million barrels released during the week, bringing total SPR holdings to 286.6 million barrels.