# U.S. refinery crude inputs | PIER20 benchmarks Where do weekly crude inputs into U.S. refineries sit relative to their five-year seasonal average? This page shows U.S. gross inputs of crude oil into refineries (EIA series WGIRIUS2). Each week is compared to the same week in the five full years before that week. The chart shows the five-year seasonal average only. It does not show a min or max range. A reading above the five-year average is high for the season. A reading below is low for the season. Inputs rise through the spring into the summer driving season, dip in the spring and autumn maintenance windows, and recover into winter. This is a seasonal gauge. It is not a price forecast. As of **31 July 2026**, the latest readings are Refinery crude inputs at **17381.00 Thousand Barrels per Day** and Five-year average at **16896.87 Thousand Barrels per Day**. The Refinery crude inputs line is down 0.8% over the past year and above its long-run median of 15381.00 Thousand Barrels per Day. ## Summary statistics (full history) | Series | First | Latest | Min | Max | |---|---|---|---|---| | Refinery crude inputs | 12833.00 | 17381.00 | 10300.00 | 18243.00 | | Five-year average | | 16896.87 | 12987.78 | 17626.27 | ## Last 24 readings | Date | Refinery crude inputs | Five-year average | |---|---|---| | 20 Feb 2026 | 15963.00 | 14817.73 | | 27 Feb 2026 | 16083.00 | 15054.07 | | 6 Mar 2026 | 16370.00 | 15507.20 | | 13 Mar 2026 | 16463.00 | 15833.33 | | 20 Mar 2026 | 16747.00 | 15987.67 | | 27 Mar 2026 | 16592.00 | 16022.13 | | 3 Apr 2026 | 16578.00 | 16014.53 | | 10 Apr 2026 | 16273.00 | 16049.93 | | 17 Apr 2026 | 16180.00 | 16088.67 | | 24 Apr 2026 | 16274.00 | 16125.87 | | 1 May 2026 | 16361.00 | 16209.73 | | 8 May 2026 | 16661.00 | 16357.20 | | 15 May 2026 | 16642.00 | 16531.20 | | 22 May 2026 | 17171.00 | 16766.93 | | 29 May 2026 | 17199.00 | 16963.07 | | 5 Jun 2026 | 17315.00 | 17056.87 | | 12 Jun 2026 | 17415.00 | 17010.67 | | 19 Jun 2026 | 17317.00 | 16951.60 | | 26 Jun 2026 | 17408.00 | 16994.40 | | 3 Jul 2026 | 17257.00 | 16997.67 | | 10 Jul 2026 | 17322.00 | 16966.20 | | 17 Jul 2026 | 17319.00 | 16839.33 | | 24 Jul 2026 | 17518.00 | 16837.80 | | 31 Jul 2026 | 17381.00 | 16896.87 | ## How to read this benchmark **What a high or low reading means.** Refinery crude inputs are the demand side of the crude market: every barrel of crude consumed is a barrel refineries processed. A reading above the seasonal band means refiners are running hard. Strong product demand or widening crack margins pulling crude into the system, a bullish crude-demand signal. A reading below the band means maintenance, outages or weak margins have idled capacity, cutting crude demand even when production is steady. **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 five-year average uses those yearly values. This page plots the average only. The average line starts once a five-year window exists and rolls forward. **Limitations.** The five-year average moves as history rolls forward. Source revisions can move history. Refinery crude inputs 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 maintenance calendar.** Refineries schedule turnaround season around the demand cycle. Spring and autumn. So the seasonal band here IS the maintenance calendar. A week where inputs sit far below the band outside those windows flags an unscheduled outage, which is how the market first learns of refinery problems before official announcements. **Same-week seasonal average.** This page uses a same-week rule over five full prior years. It allows one week of tolerance. The current year is excluded. It plots the seasonal average only. Compare the reading to the average line, not to a min or max range. ## Frequently asked questions **What is the current U.S. refinery crude inputs?** As of 31 July 2026, the latest readings are Refinery crude inputs at 17381.00 Thousand Barrels per Day and Five-year average at 16896.87 Thousand Barrels per Day. The Refinery crude inputs line is down 0.8% over the past year and above its long-run median of 15381.00 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 Refinery crude inputs and Five-year average, sourced from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). **What is the highest and lowest Refinery crude inputs 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. This page charts the five-year seasonal average only. Read extremes from the full history and the percentile cell. **How is this different from refinery utilization?** Inputs measure the volume of crude processed; utilization measures the percentage of operable capacity used. Utilization strips out capacity changes. When the industry retires or expands refining capacity, inputs and utilization diverge. The utilization page answers 'how hard is the fleet running'; this page answers 'how much crude is the fleet eating'. **Why does the five-year average 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: seasonalAverage(t) = mean of same EIA week (±1 week) in the five complete years before t - Frequency: Weekly - Sources: Refinery crude inputs (WGIRIUS2) https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=WGIRIUS2&f=W; Five-year average (WGIRIUS2#seasonalAvg) https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=WGIRIUS2&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-refinery-crude-inputs Disclaimer: research software output, not investment advice.