By Julianne Geiger - Jul 08, 2026, 9:37 AM CDT
Crude oil inventories in the United States saw a surprise increase of 3.0 million barrels during the week ending July 3, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The increase brings commercial stockpiles to 411.4 million barrels, according to government data, which are now 6% 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 small draw of 399,000 barrels in the period.Crude futures were up in early morning trading as US President Donald Trump announced that the ceasefire with Iran was over, following Iranian attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. At 8:45 a.m. in New York, Brent futures were trading at $77.37 per barrel—up $3.21 (+4.33%) on the day and up more than $5 per barrel from this same time last week. WTI was also trading up on the day, by $2.97 per barrel (+4.22%) on Wednesday morning at $73.41.For total motor gasoline, the EIA reported that inventories had decreased by 1.9 million barrels, compared to the week prior’s 2.3 million barrel build. The most recent figures showed that average daily gasoline production decreased to 9.7 million barrels. For middle distillates, inventories decreased by 5.0 million barrels with production decreasing to an average of 5.2 million barrels daily. Distillate inventories are now 12% below the five-year average.Total products supplied—a proxy for U.S. oil demand—averaged 20.6 million barrels per day over the last four weeks, up 0.3% compared to the same period last year. Gasoline demand averaged 9.0 million barrels per day over the last four weeks, while the distillate four-week average supplied averaged 3.8 million barrels—down 0.9% year over year.By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.comMore Top Reads From Oilprice.comTrump Targets California Again In SpaceX FeudColombia's Oil and Gas Reserves Keep ShrinkingLargest Data Center Project Ever Proposed Is Officially Dead
