# U.S. petroleum trade balance | PIER20 benchmarks Is the U.S. a net importer or net exporter of petroleum overall? This page charts total U.S. petroleum imports (crude plus products) against total exports, week by week. It also charts the net petroleum imports (Petroleum imports minus Petroleum exports). A wider net petroleum imports means Petroleum imports grows faster than Petroleum exports, or falls slower. A narrower balance means the opposite. The balance is a flow in units per day. A weekly balance reading is the average daily difference for that week. It describes physical supply and demand direction, not a financial position. As of **31 July 2026**, the latest readings are Petroleum imports at **7619.00 Thousand Barrels per Day** and Petroleum exports at **11562.00 Thousand Barrels per Day**. The Petroleum imports line is up 1.9% over the past year and below its long-run median of 9915.00 Thousand Barrels per Day. ## Summary statistics (full history) | Series | First | Latest | Min | Max | |---|---|---|---|---| | Petroleum imports | 6877.00 | 7619.00 | 5775.00 | 15217.00 | | Petroleum exports | 1224.00 | 11562.00 | 723.00 | 14179.00 | ## Last 24 readings | Date | Petroleum imports | Petroleum exports | |---|---|---| | 20 Feb 2026 | 8673.00 | 10914.00 | | 27 Feb 2026 | 7733.00 | 11010.00 | | 6 Mar 2026 | 8122.00 | 10594.00 | | 13 Mar 2026 | 8904.00 | 11670.00 | | 20 Mar 2026 | 7976.00 | 10929.00 | | 27 Mar 2026 | 8107.00 | 11430.00 | | 3 Apr 2026 | 8196.00 | 11714.00 | | 10 Apr 2026 | 6720.00 | 12744.00 | | 17 Apr 2026 | 7778.00 | 12881.00 | | 24 Apr 2026 | 7502.00 | 14179.00 | | 1 May 2026 | 7219.00 | 12974.00 | | 8 May 2026 | 7169.00 | 13137.00 | | 15 May 2026 | 7615.00 | 13096.00 | | 22 May 2026 | 6681.00 | 12523.00 | | 29 May 2026 | 8493.00 | 13600.00 | | 5 Jun 2026 | 7573.00 | 12493.00 | | 12 Jun 2026 | 6615.00 | 12181.00 | | 19 Jun 2026 | 7142.00 | 12143.00 | | 26 Jun 2026 | 6812.00 | 11262.00 | | 3 Jul 2026 | 6888.00 | 11992.00 | | 10 Jul 2026 | 6961.00 | 10666.00 | | 17 Jul 2026 | 7359.00 | 10287.00 | | 24 Jul 2026 | 7420.00 | 11530.00 | | 31 Jul 2026 | 7619.00 | 11562.00 | ## How to read this benchmark **What a widening or narrowing balance means.** The U.S. became a net exporter of petroleum. Crude plus products. In late 2019 for the first time since the 1940s, and net petroleum imports have been negative most weeks since. Occasional net-import weeks still appear (for example around 2023). A negative reading is the structural normal now; the interesting signal is how far it goes. Deep net-export readings mean the refining and production system is pushing large volumes to world markets; swings back toward net imports flag weaker export capacity or stronger import need. **Why Petroleum exports as the comparator.** The all-petroleum balance is the aggregate the trade statistics and the IEA use: it captures every barrel moving across the border, crude and product together. Comparing total imports against total exports answers the strategic question. Whether the U.S. is a net supplier or consumer of petroleum to world markets. That no single product flow can. **Why the balance is quoted per day.** Both flows are weekly totals from the WPSR. Each is divided by the number of days in the report week. That keeps weeks of different length comparable. The balance uses the same daily unit. A balance of +500 thousand barrels per day means the first flow ran 500 kb/d ahead of the second that week. **Limitations.** Weekly observations carry revisions. The WPSR revises earlier weeks when new data lands. Net petroleum imports is a physical flow. Prices also embed stocks, demand, policy, and the financial side of the market. Treat the chart as context for supply and demand conditions, not investment advice. ## How this benchmark is used **The 2019 net-exporter milestone.** The U.S. crossed into net petroleum exports in late 2019. The first time since the 1940s. And the balance has been the headline of the EIA's weekly trade framing ever since. The page's zero line marks that milestone; every week the balance sits below it, the U.S. is supplying more barrels to world markets than it takes. ## Frequently asked questions **What is the current U.S. petroleum trade balance?** As of 31 July 2026, the latest readings are Petroleum imports at 7619.00 Thousand Barrels per Day and Petroleum exports at 11562.00 Thousand Barrels per Day. The Petroleum imports line is up 1.9% over the past year and below its long-run median of 9915.00 Thousand Barrels per Day. **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 Petroleum imports and Petroleum exports, sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). **What does a negative net petroleum imports mean?** A negative reading means Petroleum exports exceeded Petroleum imports that week. The second flow ran ahead of the first. The balance is signed. Positive favors the first flow. Negative favors the second. The percentile cell ranks the latest balance against the full sample. **How is this different from crude-only imports vs exports?** This page includes refined products on both sides. Crude-only trade is a fraction of the story. The U.S. exports more products than crude, and its crude imports (mostly heavy grades for Gulf refineries) coexist with net product exports. The crude-only page isolates the crude arbitrage; this page is the aggregate account. **How often is the data updated?** Weekly. The Weekly Petroleum Status Report publishes Thursday 1:00 p.m. ET with data through the prior Friday. The fetch retries the next day if a scheduled release is late. ## Methodology - Formula: net petroleum imports = Petroleum imports − Petroleum exports, in thousand barrels per day - Frequency: Weekly - Sources: Petroleum imports (WTTIMUS2) https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=WTTIMUS2&f=W; Petroleum exports (WTTEXUS2) https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=WTTEXUS2&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-petroleum-trade-balance Disclaimer: research software output, not investment advice.