US Crude Oil Inventories Sag In First Count of the Year

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States saw a dip of 2.8 million barrels in the week ending January 2. Crude oil inventories rose by 1.7 million barrels in the week prior.

Crude oil inventories in the United States dipped by 5.1 million barrels net for 2025, according to Oilprice calculations of API data.

Earlier this week, the Department of Energy (DoE) reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) have risen by 300,000 barrels to 413.5 million barrels in the week ending January 2 as the Trump Administration trudges ahead to replenish depleted stockpiles.

US production rose during the week of December 26 to 13.827 million bpd, up from 13.825 million bpd in the week prior, according to the latest EIA data. This is 260,000 bpd more than this same time last year.

At 4:14 pm ET, Brent crude was trading down on the day at $60.53 (-1.99%). Brent is now roughly $1.50 down from this time last week. WTI was also trading down on the day, by $1.37 (-2.35%) at $56.95, with unknowns about the impact that the capture of Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro will have on the country’s ability to tap its vast oil reserves.

While US crude oil inventories fell, product inventories saw gains.

Gasoline inventories saw another large increase this week, gaining 4.4 million barrels in the week ending January 2. In the week prior, gasoline inventories grew by 6.2 million barrels. As of last week, gasoline inventories were 2% above the five-year average for this time of year, according to the latest EIA data.

Distillate inventories also rose in the reporting period, gaining 4.9 million barrels, after gaining 1 million barrels in the week prior. Distillate inventories were still 4% below the five-year average as of the week ending December 26, the latest EIA data shows.

Cushing inventory—the inventory kept at the delivery hub for the WTI Crude futures contract—rose by 700,000 barrels, after increasing by 800,000 barrels in the prior week.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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