By Julianne Geiger - May 28, 2026, 11:08 AM CDT
Crude oil inventories in the United States decreased by 3.3 million barrels during the week ending May 22, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Thursday. The decrease brings commercial stockpiles to 441.7 million barrels, according to government data, which is now 2% below the five-year average for this time of year.The EIA’s data release follows API’s figures that were released a day earlier, which reported that crude oil inventories saw a draw of 2.8 million barrels in the period.Crude prices began rebounding on Thursday following Wednesday’s price drop that had Brent trading below $95 per barrel. At 8:23 a.m. in New York, Brent was trading at $96.74 per barrel—up $2.45 (+2.60%) on the day, but down a substantial $12 per barrel from this time last week. WTI was also trading up on the day, by $2.52 per barrel (+2.75%) in early morning trade at $91.12, down roughly $11 per barrel week over week.For total motor gasoline, the EIA reported that inventories had decreased by 2.6 million barrels after sinking by 1.5 million barrels in the week prior. The most recent figures showed that average daily gasoline production increased to 9.9 million barrels. For middle distillates, inventories decreased by 2.1 million barrels with production increasing to an average of 5.1 million barrels daily. Distillate inventories are now 11% below the five-year average.Total products supplied—a proxy for U.S. oil demand—averaged 20.2 million barrels per day over the last four weeks, up 1.5% compared to the same period last year. Gasoline demand averaged 8.9 million barrels per day over the last four weeks, while the distillate four-week average supplied averaged 3.6 million barrels—down 2.1% percent year over year.By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.comMore Top Reads From Oilprice.comSuriname Wants Two Wins From One Block: Gas Is Done, Oil Could FollowIndia's Energy Investment Set for Record $170 Billion in 2026Uniper Sees Gas Shortage in Winter If Storage Rates Don't Speed Up
