U.S. Oil Inventories Edge Lower as Fuel Demand Softens

By Julianne Geiger - Sep 16, 2026, 9:41 AM CDT Crude oil inventories in the United States saw a decrease of 600,000 barrels during the week ending September 11, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The decrease brings commercial stockpiles to 423.4 million barrels, according to government data, which are now 1% above with 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 had gained 7.14 million barrels in the period.Crude futures were trading down at 10:26 a.m. in New York. Brent futures were trading at $107.36 per barrel—down $1.39 (-1.28%) on the day but up roughly $1.30 per barrel from this same time last week. WTI was also trading down on the day, by $2.03 per barrel (-1.92%) on Thursday morning at $103.80, up about $3 per barrel since this time last week.For total motor gasoline, the EIA reported that inventories increased by 800,000 barrels, after gaining 1.3 million barrels in the week prior. The most recent figures showed that average daily gasoline production rose to 9.6 million barrels. For middle distillates, inventories increased by 1.6 million barrels with production decreasing to an average of 5.2 million barrels daily. Distillate inventories are now 13% below the five-year average.Total products supplied—a proxy for U.S. oil demand—averaged 20.5 million barrels per day over the last four weeks, down 0.6% compared to the same period last year. Gasoline demand averaged 8.8 million barrels per day over the last four weeks, with the distillate four-week average supplied at 3.6 million barrels—down 3.3% year over year.By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.comMore Top Reads From Oilprice.comU.S. Oil Inventories Jump as Cushing Stocks Keep FallingHormuz Shipping Traffic Remains Stuck in Single DigitsGermany Weighs Market Incentives to Boost Record Low Gas Storage Level Download The Free Oilprice App Today Back to homepage