Crude oil and gasoline inventories in the U.S. moved down during the week ended August 31, in the wake of Hurricane Isaac, which hit the Gulf Coast, the heart of the U.S. refinery and oil-production area earlier last week, official data showed Thursday.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration in its weekly crude oil report said U.S. commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 7.40 million barrels to 357.10 million barrels last week, but are near the upper limit of the average range for this time of year.
The week before, crude oil inventories increased 3.80 million barrels to 364.50 million barrels.
Moreover, total motor gasoline inventories moved down by 2.30 million barrels last week, after decreasing by 1.50 million barrels in the prior week, and are in the lower half of the average range.
Analysts were expecting crude oil inventories to decline by 5.00 million barrels and gasoline stocks to shed 3.50 million barrels last week
Late Wednesday, data from the API revealed that U.S. crude oil inventories dived 7.20 million barrels and gasoline stocks shed 2.30 million barrels in the week ended August 31.
Oil refinery inputs averaged 14.60 million barrels per day during the week, which were 772,000 barrels per day below the previous week's average as refineries operated at 86.10 percent of their operable capacity.
Meantime, U.S. crude oil imports during the week averaged 8.0 million barrels per day last week, down by almost 1.50 million barrels per day from the previous week, official data revealed. Over the last four weeks, imports have averaged 8.60 million barrels per day, which were 445,000 barrels per day below the same four-week period last year.
Light Sweet Crude Oil (WTI) futures for October delivery are gaining $1.97 to $97.33 a barrel.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.