# US crude oil inventories edge down as refineries slow processing

> Commercial crude stocks fell 0.6 million barrels to 423.4 million, 1% above the five-year average, the Energy Information Administration said, while total petroleum inventories rose 2.6 million barrels.

- Canonical URL: https://forextradingcommunity.com/news/eia-crude-oil-inventories-september-2026/
- Type: Data
- Published: 2026-09-18
- Updated: 2026-09-18
- Publisher: Forex Trading Community (https://forextradingcommunity.com), FTC Editorial Team
- Currencies: USD, CAD

The US Energy Information Administration published its Weekly Petroleum Status Report on 16 September, covering the week ending 11 September 2026.

## The figures

- **Commercial crude oil inventories** (excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve): down 0.6 million barrels to 423.4 million barrels, 1% above the five-year average
- **Refinery inputs**: 17.3 million barrels a day, down 256,000 b/d from the previous week, at 96.8% capacity utilization
- **Gasoline production**: 9.6 million b/d
- **Distillate production**: 5.2 million b/d, down from the prior week
- **Gasoline inventories**: up 0.8 million barrels, 5% below the five-year average
- **Distillate inventories**: up 1.6 million barrels, 13% below the five-year average
- **Total commercial petroleum inventories**: up 2.6 million barrels for the week
- **Crude oil imports**: up 234,000 b/d to 7.1 million b/d; the four-week average of 6.7 million b/d is 7.5% above a year earlier

Over the past four weeks, total product supplied averaged 20.5 million barrels a day, down 0.6% year on year, with gasoline product supplied down 1.0% and distillate down 3.3%; jet fuel product supplied was up 4.4%.

## Why it matters for currencies

Crude stock changes are a weekly gauge of US oil supply and demand that traders watch alongside the broader price backdrop. Brent crude has traded above $100 a barrel for most of September amid the conflict in the Middle East ([report](/news/brent-crude-above-100-september-2026/)), a level that flows through to inflation readings from the UK to Japan and matters directly for oil-linked currencies such as the Canadian dollar ([oil and the Canadian dollar](/news/oil-prices-and-the-canadian-dollar/)) and the Norwegian krone. A modest 0.6-million-barrel draw, alongside falling refinery runs, is a small data point in that larger picture rather than a market-moving one on its own.

The next report is due 23 September. Live prices: [USD/CAD](/markets/usd-cad/).

## Sources

- [US Energy Information Administration: Weekly Petroleum Status Report, week ending September 11, 2026](https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/supply/weekly/)

## Common questions

### Did US crude oil inventories rise or fall in mid-September 2026?

They fell 0.6 million barrels to 423.4 million barrels in the week ending 11 September 2026, according to the Energy Information Administration, about 1% above the five-year average.

### What is the EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report?

A weekly release from the US Energy Information Administration covering US crude oil and refined product stocks, refinery activity, and imports and exports, published most Wednesdays.

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This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Trading forex and CFDs carries a high risk of losing money.