How to Read EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report — Crude and Product Stocks, Product Supplied and Unrounded Changes
EIA weekly petroleum report, issue dated October 21, 2026 (week ending October 16): commercial crude stocks 412.5 million barrels, down 3.1 million; next regular issue October 28.
Key figures (Weekly Petroleum Status Report, week ending October 16, 2026)
As of 26 October 2026 (KST); most recently published weekly report: EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report for the week ending October 16, 2026, the issue dated October 21, 2026 on the report page. The schedule says: "The standard release time and day of the week will be at 10:30 a.m. eastern time on Wednesday with the following exceptions." It lists no exception for the following week, so the next issue falls on Wednesday, October 28, 2026 (this page's reading of the schedule). Primary source: https://ir.eia.gov/wpsr/overview.pdf[1][6]
| Indicator (United States, EIA weekly estimates) | Previous (week ending Oct 9, 2026) | Current (week ending Oct 16, 2026) | Change vs previous | Change vs year ago (week ending Oct 17, 2025) | Evidence type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial crude oil stocks, excluding SPR (million barrels) | 415.6 | 412.5 | -3.1 (-0.7%) | -10.3 (-2.4%) from 422.8 | levels and changes: EIA primary statistical record (Table 1 and CSV; EIA computes differences from unrounded numbers) |
| Strategic Petroleum Reserve (million barrels) | 283.0 | 282.7 | -0.3 (-0.1%) | -125.9 (-30.8%) from 408.6 | levels and changes: EIA primary statistical record (Table 1 and CSV; EIA computes differences from unrounded numbers) |
| Total motor gasoline stocks (million barrels) | 208.3 | 205.3 | -3.0 (-1.4%) | -11.4 (-5.2%) from 216.7 | levels and changes: EIA primary statistical record (Table 1 and CSV; EIA computes differences from unrounded numbers) |
| Distillate fuel oil stocks (million barrels) | 102.6 | 104.3 | +1.7 (+1.6%) | -11.3 (-9.7%) from 115.6 | levels and changes: EIA primary statistical record (Table 1 and CSV; EIA computes differences from unrounded numbers) |
| Total stocks excluding SPR (million barrels) | 1,224.0 | 1,215.6 | -8.5 (-0.7%) | -69.1 (-5.4%) from 1,284.6 | levels and changes: EIA primary statistical record (Table 1 and CSV; EIA computes differences from unrounded numbers) |
| Total products supplied (thousand barrels per day) | 21,361 | 21,231 | -130 | +1,216 from 20,014 (published; the displayed values differ by 1,217 because EIA computes differences from unrounded numbers) | levels and changes: EIA primary statistical record (Table 1 and CSV) |
| Refinery utilization (percent of operable capacity) | 93.5 | 93.4 | -0.1 percentage point | +4.8 percentage points from 88.6 | levels: EIA primary statistical record (Table 9); changes: this page's calculation from the published rounded rates |
Comparison basis: stocks are end-of-week levels and supply figures are averages in barrels per day. The tables show rounded levels, but EIA states: "Differences and percent changes are calculated using unrounded numbers." The CSV file carries the unrounded values (for example 412.517 million barrels of commercial crude), so the published changes in the table are EIA's, not differences of the displayed rounded numbers. The table notes also say: "Data may not add to total due to independent rounding." The report page, summary, tables, CSV, explanatory notes and schedule are all from EIA and count as one source.[3][4]
In three lines
1. EIA's weekly report estimates U.S. oil inventories, refinery activity, imports, exports and product supplied for the week ending each Friday.
2. In the issue dated October 21, 2026, commercial crude stocks fell 3.1 million barrels to 412.5 million and refineries ran at 93.4% of capacity.
3. The next regular issue is due Wednesday, October 28, 2026.[2][3]
What the report says (in EIA's words)
"For the week ending October 16, 2026, U.S. refineries processed 16.6 million barrels per day (b/d), up 34,000 b/d from the previous week, at 93.4% capacity utilization." "Commercial crude oil inventories (excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve) decreased 3.1 million barrels to 412.5 million barrels, 3% below the five-year average." "Gasoline inventories decreased 3.0 million barrels, 5% below the five-year average." "Distillate inventories increased 1.7 million barrels, 9% below the five-year average." "Total commercial petroleum inventories decreased by 8.5 million barrels for the week."[2]
Product supplied. "Product supplied is often called “implied” demand because it is a measure of demand that is implied by disappearance of petroleum products from facilities and activities in the “primary” supply chain." "These timing differences result in weekly variations in product supplied." The weekly summary adds: "Over the past four weeks, total product supplied averaged 21.1 million b/d, up 3.2% year over year."[2][5]
Refinery utilization. "The percent utilization is calculated as gross weekly inputs divided by operable capacity." Table 9's note adds that operable capacity is the latest reported monthly figure.[3][5]
Reading in pairs
Displayed levels vs published changes. Fuel ethanol stocks are shown as 24.6 and 23.9 million barrels, which differ by 0.7, but the published change is 0.6; the CSV gives 24.558 and 23.942, a change of 0.616. Likewise total stocks excluding SPR are shown as 1,215.6 and 1,224.0 (a difference of 8.4) with a published draw of 8.5, from unrounded values of 1,215.562 and 1,224.016 (this page's calculations from the CSV).[3][4]
Commercial crude vs the SPR. Total crude stocks of 695.2 million barrels are the commercial 412.5 plus the Strategic Petroleum Reserve's 282.7; the CSV values (412.517 and 282.683) add exactly to 695.200. The SPR was 125.9 million barrels, or 30.8%, below a year earlier (published).[3][4]
One week vs four weeks. Total products supplied were 21,231 thousand barrels per day in the latest week but averaged 21,122 over four weeks, 3.2% above the year-earlier four-week average; EIA's summary leads with the four-week figures for product supplied.[2][3]
Weekly vs monthly accuracy. "The weekly data are not expected to have the same level of accuracy as the preliminary monthly data when compared with final monthly data." "To assess the accuracy of weekly statistics, monthly estimates derived from weekly estimates are compared with the final monthly aggregates published in the Petroleum Supply Annual (PSA)." "The mean absolute percent error for 2007 weekly data was less than 2 percent for 22 of the 62 major petroleum variables analyzed." That record compares monthly-from-weekly estimates with final monthly data and is for 2007, so it describes the method rather than this week's figures.[5]
Measured vs modelled. Some lines come from models rather than surveys; for crude oil production, "Most of the uncertainty in the weekly estimate is associated with the STEO forecast for lower 48 and GOA production."[5]
Revisions
"EIA will disseminate revised weekly data only if the revision is expected to substantively affect understanding of U.S. petroleum supplies." "If a revision is necessary, it will be disseminated in the next regularly scheduled release of the weekly products."[5]
Verified facts
Each fact is labelled with its evidence typeEach fact in this section carries its evidence type — either cross-checked against independent sources, or confirmed from a single authoritative record.
EIA estimated U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, at 412.5 million barrels for the week ending October 16, 2026, down 3.1 million barrels from the previous week.[2][3] 1 source · authoritative record
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve held 282.7 million barrels in the week ending October 16, 2026, 125.9 million barrels (30.8%) less than a year earlier.[3] 1 source · authoritative record
U.S. refineries processed 16.6 million barrels per day of crude oil in the week ending October 16, 2026, at 93.4% of operable capacity.[2][3] 1 source · authoritative record
Total products supplied averaged 21.1 million barrels per day over the four weeks to October 16, 2026, 3.2% above a year earlier.[2][3] 1 source · authoritative record
EIA's standard release time for the Weekly Petroleum Status Report is 10:30 a.m. eastern time on Wednesdays, with listed holiday exceptions such as Thursday, November 12, 2026.[6] 1 source · authoritative record
Statements and readings
Not counted as facts — each item shows what kind of statement it isFrom here on: statements not counted as facts — single-source reports, the issuing body’s own statements, and this page’s own readings, each labeled.
Differences of the displayed rounded stock levels can differ from EIA's published changes by 0.1 million barrels: fuel ethanol shows 0.7 on the rounded figures against a published 0.6 (0.616 unrounded), and total stocks excluding SPR show 8.4 against a published 8.5 (8.454 unrounded).[3][4] This page’s own calculation or reading · This page's calculation from the Table 1 CSV
Commercial crude (412.517 million barrels) plus the SPR (282.683 million) equals total crude stocks of 695.200 million barrels in the CSV.[4] This page’s own calculation or reading · This page's calculation from the Table 1 CSV
Timeline
- 2026-10-21
EIA publishes the Weekly Petroleum Status Report for the week ending October 16, 2026.[1][2]
- 2026-10-28
Next regular Wednesday issue (no exception listed in the schedule for that week).[6]
- 2026-11-12
Holiday-adjusted Thursday release at 12:00 p.m. for the week ending November 6 (Veterans Day).[6]
What this page could not establish
These are questions this page tried to answer and could not. The gaps are left open rather than filled with a guess.- Why is the Strategic Petroleum Reserve 30.8% lower than a year earlier?
- What will the October 28 issue show?
- Model
- claude-opus-5
- Time
- 10/26/2026, 04:19
- Body characters
- 6,732
- Sources
- 6 sources adopted
- Model
- ChatGPT (checked sources on the web)
- Time
- 10/26/2026, 04:25
- Verdict
- Revision required
Show revision history (3)
| 10/26/2026, 09:00 | First authored (claude-opus-5) | Created |
| 10/26/2026 | First version. Read in full EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report summary for the week ending October 16, 2026, the 8-page Data Overview with every row of Tables 1 and 9 and their notes, the Table 1 CSV, the 14-page Appendix B explanatory notes, the release schedule and the report page; quotations are complete sentences matched against the source text. | Updated |
| 10/26/2026 | Revised after review: removed the report-page notice about price tables, whose date carries no year while the October 21, 2026 issue still lists Tables 11 and 12; the four-week product-supplied sentence now cites the weekly summary; the accuracy FAQ describes the 2007 assessment as the one cited in the explanatory notes; and the year-ago change in product supplied is kept as published with a note that differences of displayed values can differ because EIA uses unrounded numbers. | Updated |
Frequently asked
How much commercial crude oil is held in the United States, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
An estimated 412.5 million barrels for the week ending October 16, 2026, in the EIA issue dated October 21, 2026 (the most recently published as of 26 October 2026), 3% below the five-year average according to EIA; the next regular issue is due October 28, 2026.[2][3]
How much oil is in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
282.7 million barrels in the week ending October 16, 2026, according to EIA's Table 1, down 125.9 million barrels from the week ending October 17, 2025.[3]
Is U.S. product supplied the same as consumption?
No: EIA calls the 21,231 thousand barrels per day of total products supplied in the week ending October 16, 2026 'implied' demand, measured as disappearance from the primary supply chain, and notes that reporting timing differences cause weekly variations.[5]
Why don't the rounded numbers in EIA's table subtract to the published change?
In the October 21, 2026 issue, EIA computes differences and percent changes from unrounded numbers, so, for example, fuel ethanol's published change is 0.6 million barrels although the displayed levels differ by 0.7.[3][4]
How accurate are EIA's weekly U.S. petroleum estimates?
The assessment cited in the report's explanatory notes covers 2007: comparing monthly-from-weekly estimates with final monthly data, the mean absolute percent error was below 2 percent for 22 of 62 major variables; EIA says weekly data are not expected to match the accuracy of preliminary monthly data.[5]
When is the Weekly Petroleum Status Report released?
At 10:30 a.m. eastern time on Wednesdays as of 26 October 2026, with holiday exceptions listed in the schedule, such as Thursday, November 12, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. for the week ending November 6; the full report follows at 1:00 p.m., according to EIA's notes.[5][6]
Official links
- Official EIA — Weekly Petroleum Status Report
- Official EIA — WPSR release schedule
- Docs US PPI, July 2026 (GlowWiki)
Sources
- [1] Weekly Petroleum Status Report (report page, issue dated October 21, 2026) primary
- [2] Weekly Petroleum Status Report Summary, week ending October 16, 2026 primary
- [3] Weekly Petroleum Status Report: Data Overview (Tables 1 and 9), week ending October 16, 2026 (PDF) primary
- [4] Table 1. U.S. Petroleum Balance Sheet (CSV), week ending October 16, 2026 primary
- [5] Weekly Petroleum Status Report Appendix B: Explanatory Notes and Detailed Methods Report (PDF) primary
- [6] Weekly Petroleum Status Report Release Schedule primary