# U.S. commercial crude oil inventories | PIER20 benchmarks Where do U.S. commercial crude oil stocks sit relative to their five-year seasonal range? This page shows U.S. ending stocks of crude oil excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (EIA series WCESTUS1). 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. Crude stocks typically build through the spring maintenance window and draw through the summer driving season, then rebuild into autumn and winter. This is a seasonal gauge. It is not a price forecast. As of **31 July 2026**, the latest reading is **406.99 Million Barrels**. That is down 3.9% over the past year and above its long-run median of 324.57 Million Barrels. ## Summary statistics (full history) | Series | First | Latest | Min | Max | |---|---|---|---|---| | U.S. commercial crude stocks | 338.76 | 406.99 | 247.32 | 540.72 | | Five-year average | | 432.81 | 268.78 | 493.60 | | Five-year minimum | | 425.68 | 247.93 | 446.85 | | Five-year maximum | | 441.69 | 286.10 | 539.36 | ## Last 24 readings | Date | U.S. commercial crude stocks | Five-year average | Five-year minimum | Five-year maximum | |---|---|---|---|---| | 20 Feb 2026 | 435.80 | 450.66 | 413.67 | 482.02 | | 27 Feb 2026 | 439.28 | 453.69 | 413.63 | 494.60 | | 6 Mar 2026 | 443.10 | 455.27 | 413.62 | 500.64 | | 13 Mar 2026 | 449.26 | 455.04 | 413.09 | 501.78 | | 20 Mar 2026 | 456.19 | 454.56 | 411.91 | 500.95 | | 27 Mar 2026 | 461.64 | 454.90 | 414.69 | 497.52 | | 3 Apr 2026 | 464.72 | 455.45 | 415.95 | 494.58 | | 10 Apr 2026 | 463.80 | 455.00 | 416.64 | 492.85 | | 17 Apr 2026 | 465.73 | 453.50 | 414.63 | 490.41 | | 24 Apr 2026 | 459.50 | 453.09 | 418.12 | 487.64 | | 1 May 2026 | 457.18 | 453.63 | 420.25 | 485.27 | | 8 May 2026 | 452.88 | 453.60 | 421.61 | 485.02 | | 15 May 2026 | 445.01 | 452.22 | 418.45 | 483.21 | | 22 May 2026 | 441.69 | 450.13 | 417.10 | 479.22 | | 29 May 2026 | 433.71 | 449.02 | 416.74 | 473.32 | | 5 Jun 2026 | 426.49 | 447.02 | 417.93 | 466.59 | | 12 Jun 2026 | 418.22 | 444.05 | 417.54 | 461.37 | | 19 Jun 2026 | 412.13 | 440.34 | 418.33 | 456.39 | | 26 Jun 2026 | 408.36 | 438.68 | 420.03 | 454.67 | | 3 Jul 2026 | 411.36 | 437.93 | 422.38 | 455.91 | | 10 Jul 2026 | 409.67 | 436.66 | 422.39 | 457.46 | | 17 Jul 2026 | 411.68 | 434.76 | 422.62 | 451.34 | | 24 Jul 2026 | 404.51 | 433.64 | 423.12 | 447.40 | | 31 Jul 2026 | 406.99 | 432.81 | 425.68 | 441.69 | ## How to read this benchmark **What a high or low reading means.** A reading in the upper part of the five-year band means commercial crude is plentiful relative to the time of year. A bearish supply backdrop, since refiners and traders can draw on comfortable inventories rather than bid for prompt barrels. A reading near the band's floor means stocks are tight for the season. The setup behind firmer spot pricing, as buyers compete for scarce barrels. **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. Commercial crude 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 weekly inventory surprise.** The WPSR's commercial crude number is the most-watched single release in commodity markets; the surprise versus consensus moves WTI within minutes of the Thursday report. This page is the same series on the same weekly cadence, judged against the same five-year convention, so the reading can be compared directly to how the report and the market frame it. **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 **What is the current U.S. commercial crude oil inventories?** As of 31 July 2026, the latest reading is 406.99 Million Barrels. That is down 3.9% over the past year and above its long-run median of 324.57 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 U.S. commercial 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 Commercial crude 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 total U.S. crude oil inventory?** This page excludes the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It covers only commercial stocks held by industry. The total U.S. crude oil inventory page adds the SPR on top. The split matters because the SPR is a policy stockpile: its 2022-23 releases and later refills moved total inventory sharply while commercial stocks followed their own cycle. **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. ## Methodology - Formula: seasonalReference(t) = same EIA week (±1 week) in the five complete years before t; average/min/max of the per-year values - Frequency: Weekly - Sources: U.S. commercial crude stocks (WCESTUS1) https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=WCESTUS1&f=W; Five-year average (WCESTUS1#seasonalAvg) https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=WCESTUS1&f=W; Five-year minimum (WCESTUS1#seasonalLow) https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=WCESTUS1&f=W; Five-year maximum (WCESTUS1#seasonalHigh) https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=WCESTUS1&f=W. Data via the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). - Data through: 31 July 2026 - Last refreshed: 11 Aug 2026 Full interactive chart: https://pier20.com/benchmarks/us-commercial-crude-inventories Disclaimer: research software output, not investment advice.