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WTI falls after biggest US crude inventory build in 3.5 years
Commercial crude stocks rose to 424.4 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 7, even as exports fell and imports rose, pointing to a Gulf Coast bottleneck.
West Texas Intermediate crude traded just above $80.0 after a session that ranged from the low $82 area down to $79.50, following the largest weekly increase in US crude oil inventories in about three and a half years. The inventory build was real, but it landed in a market that two forecasting agencies described as physically short, leaving traders to reconcile a storage gain with a supply squeeze. Commercial stocks increased to 424.4 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 7, versus a consensus expectation for a 1.4 million barrel draw, and the level remained around 2% below the five-year average.
The report also suggested the barrels accumulated where they could not easily leave. Exports fell and imports rose by 1.14 million barrels per day to 7.3 million, with cargo-tracking analysis indicating most of the buildup occurred on the Gulf Coast. Refinery runs were reported at 96.2% of operable capacity, while refined product indicators did not corroborate a true glut.
Gasoline inventories declined to 208.7 million barrels, distillate inventories slipped to 107.1 million, and both were below their five-year averages, while European refining margins set fresh records. The International Energy Agency now expects 2026 demand to contract by 1.6 million barrels per day, and OPEC trimmed its 2026 growth estimate to roughly 600K barrels per day from 780K, according to the outlet’s account.
Latest closeWTI crude $81.19 ▼2.5%|Gasoline (RBOB) $2.850 ▼9.6%