| Series | First | Latest | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPR crude stocks | 270.45 | 304.81 | 270.45 | 726.62 |
| All-time low | 270.45 | 270.45 | 270.45 | 270.45 |
SPR level (EIA WCSSTUS1); distance from extreme = current level − full-sample minimumWeekly crude oil held in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (EIA series WCSSTUS1, million barrels). The chart plots the reserve level with a constant reference line at the full-sample weekly minimum (the all-time low in this history). The rail's distance-from-extreme cell is current level minus that sample minimum.
As of 31 July 2026, the latest readings are SPR crude stocks at 304.81 Million Barrels and All-time low at 270.45 Million Barrels. The SPR crude stocks line is down 24.4% over the past year and below its long-run median of 587.01 Million Barrels.
The SPR is an emergency buffer, so its level is a policy output rather than a market signal. High levels mean the reserve is stocked with emergency cover. low levels mean drawdowns have depleted it. Large moves track announced releases and refills. Notably the 2022 emergency release that took the modern stockpile to a mid-2023 trough near 347 million barrels, and later draws that have taken the level lower still.
The reserve has no meaningful seasonal cycle. Its level moves only when the government buys or sells. So a seasonal band would be noise. The reference line is the full-sample weekly minimum in this series (early in the 1980s fill era), not the 2023 policy trough. Distance from that line measures how far the current stockpile sits above the lowest weekly print in the sample. it is not a “rebuilt from 2023” scoreboard.
Commercial crude stocks are held by industry to balance supply and demand. the SPR is held by the government for supply-security policy. Releases in 2022 added barrels to commercial availability and were priced by the market as a policy supply event, but the reserve's own level says nothing about the commercial balance. The commercial and total crude pages cover the market side.
The level reflects federal decisions, not market forces. Drawdowns and refills are announced policy events. The weekly figure can lag announced sales and purchases by a week or more. The sample minimum sits in the early fill period of the weekly series (from 1982), so full-history percentiles are dominated by that era. Treat the chart as a policy-and-supply-security record, not investment advice.
The SPR's level is the visible scoreboard of federal emergency-stockpile policy: large 2022 releases, partial refill programs, and later operational draws all show up as moves in this line. Supply-security analysts read the level and its trajectory to gauge how much emergency cover the government is willing to maintain.
As of 31 July 2026, the latest readings are SPR crude stocks at 304.81 Million Barrels and All-time low at 270.45 Million Barrels. The SPR crude stocks line is down 24.4% over the past year and below its long-run median of 587.01 Million Barrels.
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.
The chart is built from SPR crude stocks and All-time low, sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
In this weekly sample the reserve peaked near 727 million barrels around 2010 and its all-time low is the sample minimum near 270 million barrels early in the 1980s fill history (the flat reference line on the chart). After the 2022 emergency release the modern trough was roughly 347 million barrels in mid-2023; later prints have been lower than that 2023 trough while remaining above the 1980s sample minimum.
The SPR is government-owned emergency stock; commercial inventories are industry working stocks. They respond to different forces. Policy for the SPR, market balance for commercial. And the 2022 release showed them moving in opposite directions at times.
Weekly, in the same Thursday Weekly Petroleum Status Report that publishes commercial inventories. The SPR figure is also updated by the Department of Energy around its own operational announcements.
One tested idea, through the evidence stack. No migration of any kind.