Crude Inventories Rise By 7.1 Million Barrels, Exceeding Analyst Estimates

On July 9, 2025, EIA released its Weekly Petroleum Status Report. The report indicated that crude inventories increased by 7.1 million barrels from the previous week, compared to analyst forecast of -2 million barrels.

Gasoline inventories declined by -2.7 million barrels, compared to analyst consensus of -1.7 million barrels. Distillate fuel inventories decreased by -0.8 million barrels from the previous week.

U.S. crude oil imports declined by 906,000 bpd, averaging 6 million bpd. Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged 6.1 million bpd.

Strategic Petroleum Reserve increased from 402.8 million barrels to 403.0 million barrels. The U.S. continues to buy oil for reserves at a modest pace.

Domestic oil production decreased from 13.433 million bpd to 13.385 million bpd, which may provide some support to the market.

WTI oil settled near the $68.00 level as traders reacted to the EIA report.  While rising crude inventories may put pressure on oil prices, the surprising decline in domestic production may serve as a positive catalyst.

Brent oil  traded near the $70.00 level after the release of the EIA report. Brent oil has recently made an attempt to settle above $70.50 but lost momentum and pulled back.

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