Petroleum weekly stock changes
million barrels
Sources: [1] EIA: Petroleum balance sheet, week ended September 25 · 2026-09-30
A build in crude, a draw in products
The Energy Information Administration's September 30 petroleum report showed commercial U.S. crude inventories of 427.3 million barrels in the week ended September 25, up a rounded 0.9 million barrels from the preceding week. At the same time, distillate stocks fell to 105.2 million barrels and gasoline to 204.4 million. Total petroleum stocks excluding the strategic reserve fell by 7.0 million barrels. A crude build therefore did not mean the whole petroleum complex accumulated supply. [1]
The year-earlier comparison
The same report put distillate inventories 14.9% below their year-earlier level and gasoline 7.4% below. Commercial crude was 2.6% higher. The comparison is a useful description of stocks, not a forecast of next week's prices. The categories serve different users, and a barrel of crude cannot be substituted directly for a finished fuel at the pump. Figures in the accompanying graphic retain the agency's rounded weekly differences; arithmetic from rounded levels may not reproduce every change. [1]
Corn cushion grows
USDA's September 30 Grain Stocks report put September 1 old-crop corn inventories at 2.10 billion bushels, 35% above a year earlier. Soybeans were 315 million bushels, down 3%, while all-wheat stocks were 1.85 billion, down 14%. The report also revised the prior crop's acreage, yield and production after its normal balance-sheet review. These are stock observations at the opening of September, released at month's end; they are neither the current harvest total nor October inventories. [2]
Reserve exchange enters another stage
On September 29, DOE solicited bids for an exchange of up to 40 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, with deliveries scheduled for November and December. The proposal is part of the previously announced U.S. release commitment. It calls for borrowed barrels to be returned with additional premium barrels. As of this issue's cutoff, the October 6 bid deadline was still ahead. The request should be counted as a solicitation, not as 40 million barrels already awarded or delivered. [3]
Older outlook remains a scenario
The EIA's September outlook, published September 9 with inputs finalized September 3, projected Brent averaging about $90 a barrel in the second half of 2026 and $74 in 2027. It assumed gradual improvement in constrained Middle Eastern flows. Those are conditional forecast averages, not this week's spot or futures settlements. The report also described tight distillate balances. A later weekly stock reading is useful evidence to compare against that path, but cannot retroactively update the model's assumptions. [4]
Why no universal price table appears
The reference commodity list provides a broad editorial map: energy, precious and base metals, agriculture, livestock and environmental markets. Its approximate prices are not an independently verified weekly tape. This article instead uses current-window official releases whose observation dates and units can be checked. It does not infer gold, copper or oil futures returns from equity moves, a news headline or an undated screen. An exchange contract's month, settlement method and roll date are essential to any subsequent price comparison.
Sources & methodology
Bracketed numbers refer to the sources below. Analysis is original editorial interpretation, not a personalized recommendation.
- EIA: Petroleum balance sheet, week ended September 25 · 2026-09-30
- USDA NASS: Grain Stocks · 2026-09-30
- DOE: Strategic Reserve release commitments · 2026-09-29
- EIA: September 2026 Short-Term Energy Outlook · 2026-09-09