Calendar › EIA weekly petroleum status (crude inventories) › 2026-11-12

Crude +4.7M vs −1.1M Est — Distillate Builds 4.1M as Demand Falls 2.2 mb/d

Fundamentals · 2026-11-12

Commercial crude +4.657M to 414.4M in the week ended 6 November (vs −1.1M est (TradingEconomics); API +9.0M), ending five straight draws, now 3.1% below a year ago; adjustment −466 kb/d, about −3.3M barrels, so measured flows point to a +7.9M build; imports +325 kb/d to 6.70 mb/d, exports −220 kb/d to 3.46 mb/d; production 14.01 mb/d; refinery runs +322 kb/d to 17.05 mb/d, utilization 95.2% (+0.7); Cushing +0.11M to 27.36M; Gulf Coast +3.30M, ending four straight draws; SPR −2.65M to 279.5M; gasoline +1.799M vs −0.1M est; distillate +4.071M vs −1.0M est, to 103.3M, now 6.8% below a year ago from 11.0%; total products supplied 19.76 mb/d, −2,203 kb/d; total commercial stocks +11.36M. Released at 12:00 ET, held a day by Veterans Day.

What It Changes

• Every headline line missed bearish. Crude built 4.7 million against a 1.1 million draw expected, gasoline built 1.8 million against a small draw, and distillate built 4.1 million against a 1.0 million draw.
• The real crude build is bigger than the headline. EIA's adjustment took out about 3.3 million barrels, so measured flows point to a build of about 7.9 million, close to the API's 9.0 million on Tuesday.
• Demand did the damage. Total products supplied fell 2.2 million b/d, giving back all of last week's 1.75 million b/d jump and more, and distillate supplied fell 1.0 million b/d. Refiners ran harder into that, so products piled up.
• It undoes last week's bullish read. The 4 November brief called distillate the line that moved; this week's 4.1 million build takes back more than last week's 3.6 million draw, and the gap to last year narrowed from 11.0% to 6.8%.

Impact

• Crude (CL) — Bearish — a build on every major line against expected draws, a measured crude build near 8 million and a sharp fall in demand.
• The release dented crude but did not turn it. Front-month WTI was +0.92% against Wednesday's settle at 11:59 ET, +0.70% in the release minute and +0.60% by 12:05, then +1.29% by 12:30. Brent went from +1.53% at 11:59 to +1.27% at 12:05 and +1.95% by 12:30. This brief does not attribute the later recovery to the report.
• Heating oil took the biggest hit, as the distillate build says it should. December heating oil went from +0.47% against its settle at 11:59 to −0.32% in the release minute, a 0.78% drop, and was back to +0.19% by 12:30 ET. RBOB fell 0.22% in the release minute and had recovered by 12:05.
• USD — Neutral — inventories do not price the dollar.
• US Indices (ES / NQ / YM / RTY) — Neutral — energy names react at the margin; Nvidia and the bond market are setting the index tone today.
• Gold (GC) — Neutral — the oil-to-inflation channel runs through crude prices, and a bearish inventory week is a small offset to a day driven by hike pricing.

Inside The Number

Commercial crude inventories excluding the SPR rose 4.657 million barrels to 414.417 million in the week ended 6 November, against a 1.1 million barrel draw expected (TradingEconomics). The API had reported a 9.0 million barrel build on Tuesday, against a 1.0 million draw expected, so EIA confirmed the direction and about half the size. It ends a run of five straight EIA draws that took out about 17.6 million barrels. Stocks are 3.1% below the same week last year, from 2.7% last week, because last year's comparable week built more. Including the SPR, total crude rose 2.008 million to 694.0 million, 17.2% below a year ago. The report came out at 12:00 ET, a day late, after the Veterans Day holiday.

The adjustment hid part of the build again. EIA's crude balancing item printed −466 kb/d, about 3.26 million barrels over the week, after −704 kb/d last week. The commercial stock change was +665 kb/d; take the adjustment out and measured flows point to +1,131 kb/d, about a 7.9 million barrel build. Two weeks in a row the adjustment has subtracted barrels, so the measured flows have been weaker than the headlines for a fortnight: about +12.0 million over two weeks, against a headline +3.8 million.

Trade added barrels. Crude imports rose 325 kb/d to 6.698 mb/d and exports fell 220 kb/d to 3.455 mb/d. Net imports rose 545 kb/d to 3.243 mb/d, about 3.8 million barrels more kept at home than last week. The four-week import average is 14.0% above a year ago; the four-week export average is 2.0% below.

Production held at 14 mb/d. Domestic output rose 10 kb/d to 14.013 mb/d: Lower 48 up 1 kb/d to 13.517 mb/d, Alaska up 9 kb/d to 496 kb/d. Output is 151 kb/d above the same week last year. The weekly figure is an estimate that EIA later checks against monthly data.

Refiners ran harder again. Crude inputs rose 322 kb/d to 17.047 mb/d, 6.7% above a year ago, and utilization rose 0.7 points to 95.2%, against 89.4% a year ago. The Midwest jumped 4.0 points to 96.9% and the East Coast 3.6 points to 93.1%. The Gulf Coast slipped 0.7 to 95.4% and the Rocky Mountain region 1.6 to 96.0%; the West Coast was flat at 91.6%.

Regionally, the Gulf Coast took the barrels. The Gulf Coast built 3.302 million to 230.492 million, ending four straight draws for the export region, and is 5.3% below a year ago. Cushing rose 0.106 million to 27.356 million, 21.5% above a year ago. The Midwest outside Cushing built about 0.27 million, the West Coast 0.593 million, the Rocky Mountain region 0.299 million and the East Coast 85,000. Alaska crude in transit, outside the commercial total, rose 2.522 million.

Distillate reversed hard. Stocks rose 4.071 million barrels to 103.330 million, against a 1.0 million draw expected, back above 100 million and now 6.8% below a year ago, from 11.0%. Ultra-low-sulphur diesel built 3.623 million and high-sulphur distillate, the heating oil grade, 335,000. The build came from demand: distillate supplied fell 1,028 kb/d to 3.411 mb/d, while production slipped only 63 kb/d to 5.091 mb/d. Its four-week average is still 4.2% above a year ago, down from 8.7%.

Gasoline built too. Stocks rose 1.799 million to 210.8 million against a 0.1 million draw expected, and are 2.8% above a year ago, from 1.4%. Gasoline supplied was steady at 8.767 mb/d (−41 kb/d); its four-week average is 1.0% below a year ago. Jet fuel built 197,000, propane 91,000 and residual fuel 7,000; fuel ethanol drew 88,000. Total commercial petroleum stocks rose 11.359 million barrels and are 4.4% below a year ago, from 5.1%.

Demand fell back sharply. Total products supplied fell 2,203 kb/d to 19.759 mb/d, after last week's 1,753 kb/d jump. Beyond distillate, propane fell 542 kb/d, other oils 659 kb/d and residual fuel 94 kb/d, while jet fuel rose 161 kb/d. The four-week average is 20.790 mb/d, 0.9% above a year ago, against 4.2% last week. Products supplied is EIA's proxy for demand, measured as what leaves primary storage, so two weekly swings of this size in opposite directions say as much about timing as about consumption. Product exports rose 347 kb/d to 7.543 mb/d. Counting crude and products together, the US was a net exporter of 3.139 mb/d, up 52 kb/d.

The SPR drew hard. It fell 2.649 million barrels to 279.535 million, about 378 kb/d, against 399,000 barrels last week. It is 31.9% below a year ago.

The Internals

Stocks, in millions of barrels, week ended 6 November:

Series · This week · Last week · Change · Year ago · vs year ago

Commercial crude excluding SPR · 414.417 · 409.760 · +4.657 · 427.581 · −3.1%

Strategic Petroleum Reserve · 279.535 · 282.184 · −2.649 · 410.393 · −31.9%

Total crude including SPR · 693.952 · 691.944 · +2.008 · 837.974 · −17.2%

Cushing, Oklahoma · 27.356 · 27.250 · +0.106 · 22.519 · +21.5%

Total motor gasoline · 210.757 · 208.958 · +1.799 · 205.064 · +2.8%

Distillate fuel oil · 103.330 · 99.259 · +4.071 · 110.909 · −6.8%

Ultra-low-sulphur distillate · 91.807 · 88.184 · +3.623 · 100.244 · −8.4%

Kerosene-type jet fuel · 41.979 · 41.782 · +0.197 · 42.816 · −2.0%

Propane and propylene · 104.199 · 104.108 · +0.091 · 105.403 · −1.1%

Residual fuel oil · 24.442 · 24.435 · +0.007 · 23.112 · +5.8%

Fuel ethanol · 24.345 · 24.434 · −0.088 · 22.219 · +9.6%

Total stocks excluding SPR · 1,215.733 · 1,204.374 · +11.359 · 1,271.902 · −4.4%

Headline against consensus, millions of barrels:

Series · Actual · Consensus · Gap · Prior week

Commercial crude · +4.657 · −1.1 · 5.8 more bearish · −0.865

Gasoline · +1.799 · −0.1 · 1.9 more bearish · −0.222

Distillate · +4.071 · −1.0 · 5.1 more bearish · −3.565

API crude, Tuesday · +9.0 · −1.0 · 10.0 more bearish · −5.267

Commercial crude by region, millions of barrels:

Region · This week · Change · Year ago · vs year ago

East Coast (PADD 1) · 8.209 · +0.085 · 8.303 · −1.1%

Midwest (PADD 2) · 108.186 · +0.377 · 103.925 · +4.1%

Of which: Cushing · 27.356 · +0.106 · 22.519 · +21.5%

Gulf Coast (PADD 3) · 230.492 · +3.302 · 243.315 · −5.3%

Rocky Mountain (PADD 4) · 24.303 · +0.299 · 24.510 · −0.8%

West Coast (PADD 5) · 43.226 · +0.593 · 47.527 · −9.1%

Alaska in-transit, not in the total · 4.585 · +2.522 · 4.664 · −1.7%

Crude balance, thousand barrels per day:

Line · This week · Last week · Change · Year ago

Domestic production · 14,013 · 14,003 · +10 · 13,862

Lower 48 production · 13,517 · 13,516 · +1 · 13,424

Crude imports · 6,698 · 6,374 · +325 · 5,222

Crude exports · 3,455 · 3,675 · −220 · 2,816

Net imports · 3,243 · 2,699 · +545 · 2,406

Refinery crude inputs · 17,047 · 16,725 · +322 · 15,973

Commercial stock change · +665 · −124 · +789 · +916

Adjustment · −466 · −704 · +238 · +279

Stock change excluding the adjustment · +1,131 · +580 · +551 · +637

The adjustment, eight weeks:

Week ended · Adjustment, kb/d · About, million barrels · Headline change, million barrels

18 September · +215 · +1.5 · +2.97

25 September · −238 · −1.7 · +0.92

2 October · −589 · −4.1 · −3.19

9 October · −308 · −2.2 · −8.56

16 October · +47 · +0.3 · −3.06

23 October · +189 · +1.3 · −1.89

30 October · −704 · −4.9 · −0.87

6 November · −466 · −3.3 · +4.66

Refinery utilization by region:

Region · This week · Last week · Change · Year ago

Total · 95.2% · 94.5% · +0.7 · 89.4%

East Coast · 93.1% · 89.5% · +3.6 · 91.4%

Midwest · 96.9% · 92.9% · +4.0 · 88.6%

Gulf Coast · 95.4% · 96.1% · −0.7 · 93.2%

Rocky Mountain · 96.0% · 97.6% · −1.6 · 96.7%

West Coast · 91.6% · 91.7% · −0.1 · 73.5%

Products supplied, thousand barrels per day:

Product · This week · Change · Four-week average · vs year ago, four-week

Total · 19,759 · −2,203 · 20,790 · +0.9%

Finished motor gasoline · 8,767 · −41 · 8,729 · −1.0%

Distillate fuel oil · 3,411 · −1,028 · 3,947 · +4.2%

Kerosene-type jet fuel · 1,889 · +161 · 1,777 · +1.8%

Propane and propylene · 898 · −542 · 1,030 · +3.5%

Residual fuel oil · 188 · −94 · 318 · +11.9%

Against This Morning's Open

• The Open listed EIA crude at a 1.1 million draw expected against a 0.865 million prior, at 12:00, "a 90-minute shift from its usual 10:30 slot". It came in at a 4.7 million build.
• The Open called it "the first official inventory number in a week of headline-driven trade" and noted WTI was "nearly 20% below its October peak" as the war premium drained. The report added a supply-side reason to that slide, but CL was higher on the day both before and after it.

What This Sets Up

• Next EIA weekly petroleum report: Wednesday 18 November, 10:30 ET, covering the week to 13 November, back on its usual schedule.
• Confirms the read: a second crude build with the adjustment near zero, and distillate supplied staying below 4 mb/d, which would say demand really has softened rather than shifted between weeks.
• Breaks it: products supplied rebounding toward 21 mb/d and distillate drawing again, which would make this week's fall a timing swing, the mirror of last week's jump.
• Watch the adjustment. Two straight readings below −450 kb/d have subtracted about 8.2 million barrels from the headlines; if it keeps running negative, the measured builds are the better guide.

What Is This?

• What it is: The Energy Information Administration's Weekly Petroleum Status Report: US crude and product inventories, refinery runs, production, imports, exports and products supplied, for the week ending the previous Friday. It normally publishes Wednesday at 10:30 ET; holiday weeks shift it, as Veterans Day did this week. Stocks are reported in barrels, flows in barrels per day.
• Why it matters: It is the most closely watched official read on US oil supply and demand, and it lands mid-week when crude is already trading on war-premium headlines from the Middle East. Builds against an expected draw are bearish for crude and products; draws against an expected build are bullish.
• How to read it: Start with the headline against consensus, then check the adjustment: it is the barrels EIA cannot match to measured flows, so a large adjustment means the headline is less reliable than the flows. Products supplied is a demand proxy measured at the storage tank, and it swings week to week, so the four-week average against last year is the better trend. Cushing matters most for the WTI contract, because it is the delivery point.

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_For informational purposes only. Not investment advice._