US crude oil inventories fall for record 17 straight weeks
Total stockpiles have dropped by 166 million barrels since early April to the lowest level since 1984, while the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has fallen to its weakest level since 1983.
Fact Check
The core claim of a record 17 consecutive weekly declines in US crude oil inventories, breaking the prior record of 16 set in 2021, is stated in the original Kobeissi Letter post and independently corroborated by Bespoke Investment Group, which cites EIA data and adds 'lowest level since March 1984.' Both sources reference early-April as the start of the drawdown. The consistency of two independent financial research sources supports the claim. Confidence is medium rather than high because direct EIA primary-source confirmation could not be fetched, and some peripheral figures (SPR levels) show variation across dates in search results, though those do not affect the central record-17-week claim.
Summary
US crude oil inventories have declined for 17 consecutive weeks, marking the longest such streak on record and surpassing the previous 16-week run set in 2021. Since early April, total crude inventories have fallen by 166 million barrels to 712 million barrels, the lowest level since March 1984. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve alone has dropped by 111 million barrels since March to 305 million barrels, its lowest level since February 1983. Separately, US petroleum inventories have also fallen for 10 straight weeks, matching the record set in 2018.
Terms & Concepts
- Strategic Petroleum Reserve: The U.S. government's emergency crude oil stockpile intended to help cushion supply disruptions.
- crude oil inventories: Stored crude oil held in commercial or government stockpiles.
- drawdown: A decline in inventory levels over a period of time.