| Series | First | Latest | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distillate stocks | 149.41 | 107.16 | 87.15 | 186.01 |
| Five-year average | 137.60 | 121.30 | 95.90 | 167.61 |
| Five-year minimum | 128.98 | 111.02 | 87.72 | 159.73 |
| Five-year maximum | 149.41 | 139.02 | 97.64 | 183.42 |
seasonalReference(t) = same EIA week (±1 week) in the five complete years before t; average/min/max of the per-year valuesWeekly U.S. ending stocks of distillate fuel oil (EIA series WDISTUS1), 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 107.16 Million Barrels. That is down 5.1% over the past year and below its long-run median of 125.37 Million Barrels.
Distillate is the heating and freight fuel. Home heating oil in the winter, diesel for trucking, rail and agriculture year-round. A high seasonal reading means heating-oil and diesel barrels are comfortable ahead of winter demand, capping distillate crack spreads. A reading at the bottom of the band ahead of winter has historically been the configuration that pushes distillate cracks and heating-oil prices sharply higher.
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.
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.
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. Distillate 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.
The standard winter-read on heating-oil supply is distillate stocks entering November against the five-year band: the 2022 shortage unfolded because inventories entered the heating season far below the band and refinery capacity could not rebuild them. The same stock-to-season relationship drives diesel price hedging by trucking and agricultural buyers.
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.
As of 31 July 2026, the latest reading is 107.16 Million Barrels. That is down 5.1% over the past year and below its long-run median of 125.37 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 Distillate stocks, Five-year average, Five-year minimum and Five-year maximum, sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
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.
Distillate is a refined product, not crude: refiners produce it from crude, so the two series answer different questions. Crude stocks say how much raw input sits in tanks; distillate stocks say how much of the finished heating and diesel fuel is available. In the 2022 distillate shortage, crude stocks were near normal while distillate stocks sat near multi-decade lows. The product barrel was the constraint.
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.
One tested idea, through the evidence stack. No migration of any kind.