Cushing Crude Falls to Twelve-Year Low as EIA Posts Second Straight Draw
Back-to-back crude inventory draws and a Cushing storage level not seen since 2014 are complicating a broadly bearish demand picture.
EIA data released Friday (2026-09-04) showed US commercial crude oil inventories falling 4.45 million barrels for the week ending August 28, a second consecutive unexpected draw that left stockpiles at 424.5 million barrels, according to Rigzone citing the EIA report.6,5
The sharper signal came from Cushing, Oklahoma. Crude held at the NYMEX delivery hub fell to approximately 20 million barrels during the same week, the lowest operating level since October 2014, per EIA figures. Tight Cushing stocks historically sustain backwardation at the front of the NYMEX WTI futures curve, lifting the prompt contract relative to deferred months. NYMEX WTI front-month was last indicated at $91.22 per barrel as of 2026-09-06, with ICE Brent crude front-month at $94.97.6
The summer inventory pattern has swung sharply. Commercial crude stocks surged 17.4 million barrels in the week ending August 7, reaching 424.4 million barrels and sitting just 2 percent below the five-year seasonal average, the EIA said in a report released Wednesday (2026-08-12). A near-flat reading for the week ending August 21, up just 0.1 million barrels, kept direction uncertain. The August 28 draw reverted stockpiles close to where they stood before the August 7 build.2,4
Aggregate deficits have widened on a year-on-year basis. Total petroleum stocks stood at 1.528 billion barrels as of August 28, down 141.6 million barrels from the year-earlier period and down 6.1 million barrels week on week, Rigzone reported. Commercial crude at 424.5 million barrels on August 28 compared with 420.7 million barrels on August 29, 2025, a smaller year-on-year shortfall at the crude line than across broader products.5
Demand readings complicate the bullish supply argument. Total products supplied over the four-week period ending August 28 averaged 20.5 million barrels per day, down 3.0 percent from the same window a year earlier, per EIA data. The four-week average for jet fuel supplied declined one percent year over year. Those figures sit uneasily against a crude draw, suggesting refiners were pulling inventory rather than responding to a broad acceleration in end-use demand.4,5
Refinery throughput for the week ending August 28 reached 17.5 million barrels per day, above the 17.1 million barrels per day recorded for the week ending June 19 (2026-06-19), when utilization stood at 96.1 percent. Strong run rates pulling against falling crude stocks account for much of Cushing's compression.5,1
Products split in different directions. Gasoline inventories fell 1.17 million barrels for the week ending August 28. Distillate stocks rose 0.8 million barrels, though they remain 14 percent below their five-year average. Propane fell 2.1 million barrels yet sits 25 percent above its five-year seasonal norm, a surplus that diverges sharply from the distillate picture. Total commercial petroleum inventories declined 3.0 million barrels for the week, the EIA noted.6,5
The trading week surrounding the EIA release was volatile. ICE Brent crude front-month was tracking toward a 5.3 percent weekly loss before a sharp recovery during the week ended Friday (2026-09-04), and NYMEX WTI front-month was pointing to a 4.3 percent weekly decline at the same point, according to hdfcsky.com. A warning issued by Russia to Britain added a geopolitical undercurrent, though available reports did not quantify its effect on oil-market positioning. Russian supply disruptions historically widen the Urals discount to Brent, feeding through to European diesel. Urals crude was last indicated at $86.70 per barrel as of 2026-09-06, an $8.27 discount to ICE Brent crude front-month.6,3
OPEC+ scheduled a September output increase of 188,000 barrels per day, reinforcing expectations of additional supply. The SPR stood at 286.6 million barrels as of August 28, down from 289.7 million barrels the week before and well below the 404.7 million barrels held on August 29, 2025. That steady depletion narrows the government buffer against any disruption to commercial supply.5,6
Russia's diesel and gasoil export flows remain a variable for product markets. With jet fuel demand running below last year's pace and OPEC+ barrels scheduled to arrive in September, the next EIA weekly report will show whether the Cushing drawdown continues or whether softening product demand starts to slow crude intake at the refinery gate.3,5