US Crude Oil Inventories Surge on Export Slump
The United States saw its crude oil inventories rise by 17.4 million barrels to 424.4 million barrels in the week ended August 7, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). This marked the largest weekly gain since January 2023 and exceeded analysts' expectations of a 1.4 million-barrel draw.
The increase was largely due to a slump in crude exports, which fell to their lowest level since November 2025 at 3.06 million barrels per day (bpd). At the same time, imports surged to their highest since June 2025, with net U.S. crude imports rising by 1.77 million bpd.
Crude stocks along the U.S. Gulf Coast rose by the most in a week since January 2023, while those at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub increased by 1.6 million barrels.
Refinery crude runs rose by 26,000 barrels per day, but refinery utilization rates fell by 0.3 percentage points to 96.2%. U.S. gasoline stocks declined by 1 million barrels in the week, while distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, dropped by 10,000 barrels.
Despite the large inventory build, Brent crude futures initially extended losses but later traded flat on the day.