Benchmark · weekly · Million Barrels

Cushing crude oil inventories

Where do Cushing, Oklahoma crude stocks sit relative to their five-year seasonal range?

This page shows crude oil stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma (EIA series W_EPC0_SAX_YCUOK_MBBL). Each week is compared to the same week in the five full years before that week. The chart shows the five-year average, minimum, and maximum. A reading above the five-year range is high for the season. A reading below is low for the season. Cushing stocks swing with pipeline flows and delivery schedules more than a smooth seasonal cycle. This is a seasonal gauge. It is not a price forecast.

Readingsweekly

Current: 20.95Million Barrels
Five-year average: 29.25Million Barrels
Gap to average: −8.29 Million Barrels; vs 29.25 five-year avg
YoY change: −1.60 Million Barrels; from 22.55
Historical percentile: 15th; of 1165 readings · since 2004-04-09

Cushing crude stocks

Five-year average

Five-year minimum

Five-year maximum

Cushing crude oil inventories: summary statistics (Max range)
Series	First	Latest	Min	Max
Cushing crude stocks	11.68	20.95	11.68	69.42
Five-year average	19.43	29.25	16.92	56.14
Five-year minimum	11.68	22.87	11.68	39.90
Five-year maximum	24.85	34.36	21.74	69.07

Source: EIA
Series: W_EPC0_SAX_YCUOK_MBBL W_EPC0_SAX_YCUOK_MBBL#seasonalAvg W_EPC0_SAX_YCUOK_MBBL#seasonalLow W_EPC0_SAX_YCUOK_MBBL#seasonalHigh
Frequency: weekly
Data through: 31 July 2026
Refreshed: 11 Aug 2026

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How this is calculated

Formula

seasonalReference(t) = same EIA week (±1 week) in the five complete years before t; average/min/max of the per-year values

Weekly crude oil stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma (EIA series W_EPC0_SAX_YCUOK_MBBL), plotted against the five-year seasonal average, minimum, and maximum for the same calendar week. The reference uses the same EIA week number (plus or minus one week) in the five full calendar years before each observation. The current year never enters its own baseline. Each reference year contributes the mean of its tolerated observations. The seasonal range lines start once a five-year window exists.

As of 31 July 2026, the latest reading is 20.95 Million Barrels. That is down 8.9% over the past year and below its long-run median of 32.37 Million Barrels.

Source series

EIA

PlottedW_EPC0_SAX_YCUOK_MBBLCushing crude stocksMillion Barrels · weekly · Not seasonally adjusted PlottedW_EPC0_SAX_YCUOK_MBBL#seasonalAvgFive-year averageMillion Barrels · weekly · Not seasonally adjusted PlottedW_EPC0_SAX_YCUOK_MBBL#seasonalLowFive-year minimumMillion Barrels · weekly · Not seasonally adjusted PlottedW_EPC0_SAX_YCUOK_MBBL#seasonalHighFive-year maximumMillion Barrels · weekly · Not seasonally adjusted

How to read it

What a high or low reading means

Cushing is the NYMEX WTI delivery point and the largest commercial storage hub in the United States, so its stocks are the physical bookend for the WTI contract. A high reading means prompt barrels are abundant at the hub. A bearish WTI basis signal, because expiry-month sellers can deliver into a well-supplied tank farm. A low reading means the hub is tight, and the contract's sellers must source barrels on short notice, which has historically shown up as a stronger front-month basis.

Why the five-year same-week average as the comparator

Energy series move with the calendar year. A raw level cannot say if the market is tight or slack. This page ranks each week against the same week in the five full years before it. A July reading is judged against prior Julys, not against the full year. The baseline uses only earlier years. The current year never enters its own baseline. The rule allows one week of tolerance when holidays shift the report week.

How the seasonal lines are built

For each date, the reference is the same EIA week number (plus or minus one week) in the five full calendar years before it. Each reference year adds one value (the mean of its tolerated observations). The average, minimum, and maximum use those five yearly values. The lines start once a five-year window exists. The window rolls forward as old years leave.

Limitations

The five-year window moves as history rolls forward, so an extreme from a decade ago no longer anchors the range. Source revisions can move history. Cushing stocks is one input to the market balance. Prices also move on the weekly surprise versus expectations, not on the level alone. Treat the chart as context for supply and demand conditions, not investment advice.

How this benchmark is used

The NYMEX delivery-point gauge

Cushing's tank level is the settlement anchor for WTI futures: expiry mechanics require deliverable barrels at the hub, so the market prices the basis around the implied days of Cushing supply. The mid-2022 drawdown. The calendar low hit in late June 2022 near tank-bottom levels. Coincided with one of the widest prompt WTI premiums on record. This page tracks exactly that deliverable-inventory condition.

The EIA five-year range convention

The Weekly Petroleum Status Report uses a five-year average and range. The Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report does the same for gas. This page uses the same idea with a strict same-week rule. It uses five full prior years and allows one week of tolerance. The current year never enters the baseline. Our average can differ slightly from EIA tables when holiday weeks differ.

Frequently asked questions

6 answers

What is the current cushing crude oil inventories?

As of 31 July 2026, the latest reading is 20.95 Million Barrels. That is down 8.9% over the past year and below its long-run median of 32.37 Million Barrels.

How often is this benchmark updated?

This benchmark is built on weekly data. The page is refreshed when the source publishes new observations; the freshness block below the chart shows the exact data-through date and when PIER20 last fetched the file.

What data sources does this chart use?

The chart is built from Cushing crude stocks, Five-year average, Five-year minimum and Five-year maximum, sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

What is the highest and lowest Cushing stocks has reached?

The percentile cell ranks the latest reading against the full sample. The 100th percentile is the highest on record. The 0th is the lowest. The five-year range is relative. Read full-history extremes on the full chart range, not only on the seasonal range.

How is this different from national commercial crude inventories?

Cushing is one storage location inside the national number. Roughly a tenth of U.S. commercial crude stocks. The two series diverged sharply in 2022-23, when Cushing drained toward tank-bottom levels while national stocks stayed within their seasonal band: national abundance coexisted with an acutely tight delivery point, and the WTI basis reacted to Cushing, not the national total.

Why does the five-year range only start five years into the history?

A baseline needs five full prior years of observations. The current year never enters its own baseline. The first five years of a series have no complete reference window. Earlier readings plot without a seasonal reference.

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