| Series | First | Latest | Min | Max |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Propane stocks | 22.30 | 103.10 | 18.17 | 106.09 |
| Five-year average | 23.78 | 79.12 | 21.69 | 93.01 |
| Five-year minimum | 22.30 | 65.76 | 18.66 | 75.59 |
| Five-year maximum | 25.17 | 89.73 | 23.33 | 102.14 |
seasonalReference(t) = same EIA week (±1 week) in the five complete years before t; average/min/max of the per-year valuesWeekly U.S. propane and propylene stocks excluding propylene at terminal (EIA series WPRSTUS1), 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 103.10 Million Barrels. That is up 21.7% over the past year and above its long-run median of 58.27 Million Barrels.
Propane is the dominant U.S. heating fuel outside natural-gas networks and a large export product. A high seasonal reading means winter heating demand can be served from comfortable stocks, capping propane and petrochemical feedstock prices. A low reading ahead of winter tightens the market. The early-2021 cold snap, when propane stocks ran near five-year lows and prices spiked, is the reference case.
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. Propane 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 U.S. is the world's largest LPG exporter, and Gulf Coast propane stocks are the swing inventory for that trade: builds through the summer stock barrels for autumn loading seasons, draws in winter as domestic heating competes with exports. Traders read this page's seasonal band for whether export supply is comfortable.
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 103.10 Million Barrels. That is up 21.7% over the past year and above its long-run median of 58.27 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 Propane 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.
Both are heating fuels, but propane is a separate product chain: it is stripped from natural gas at processing plants, not distilled from crude at refineries, and a large share is exported rather than burned domestically. Distillate stocks answer the heating-oil question; propane stocks answer the LPG-heating and export question.
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.