US Crude Oil Inventories Down, SPR Still at Historic Lows, But Other Petroleum Inventories Up: EIA

Government calculates lower crude oil inventory decline than American Petroleum Institute

Oil rigs extract petroleum in the Los Angeles area community of Culver City, Calif., on April 25, 2008. David McNew/Getty Images

With Thanksgiving approaching, the Nov. 23 weekly report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that commercial crude oil inventories in the United States fell by 3.7 million barrels–yet inventories of motor gasoline, distillate fuel, and other petroleum products increased, for an overall rise of 3.3 million in total commercial petroleum inventories.

The EIA’s latest numbers covered the week ending Nov. 18. Notably, the EIA’s commercial crude oil data did not include the latest releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR).