According to the American Petroleum Institute, U.S. crude oil inventories decreased by 399,000 barrels during the week ending July 3, following a more substantial decline of 6.072 million barrels the previous week. The modest weekly drop reflects ongoing pressure on domestic stockpiles, though the pace of reduction has moderated compared to recent weeks.
Commercial crude inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, have contracted significantly over the past two months, declining by approximately 60 million barrels. However, year-to-date reductions remain constrained at 8.6 million barrels when accounting for SPR drawdowns, indicating that government reserve releases have largely offset commercial inventory declines.
As crude inventories adjust downward, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz—a critical chokepoint for global oil supplies—is beginning to normalize, potentially easing some supply-side pressures that have influenced recent inventory dynamics.