Tightness in US Crude Supplies Supports Crude Oil Prices

July WTI crude oil (CLN26) on Wednesday closed up +0.74 (+0.97%), and July RBOB gasoline (RBN26) closed up +0.0291 (+1.01%).

Crude oil and gasoline prices settled higher on Wednesday, with crude recovering from a 3.5-month low. Crude oil prices rose on Wednesday on some technical buying after sharp losses over the past three sessions pushed prices into deeply oversold territory.  Crude prices extended their gains on Wednesday after weekly EIA crude inventories fell more than expected to a 7.5-month low, and oil supplies at Cushing, the delivery point of WTI futures, dropped to an 11-year low.  Crude prices fell from their best level as the dollar strengthened.

President Trump said the Strait of Hormuz will reopen after this Friday’s signing of the peace deal in Switzerland, which will trigger the start of 60 days of talks on Iran’s nuclear program.  However, if an agreement isn’t reached on nuclear, the US could restart military attacks. 

The International Energy Agency (IEA) on Wednesday warned that the Iran war's impact on global oil demand will be much deeper than previously anticipated, saying world oil consumption will decline by -1.1 million bpd this year, a larger drop than a previous estimate of -420,000 bpd.

The eventual resumption of vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz could lead to the release of more than 100 laden ships carrying oil from Middle Eastern countries other than Iran that are stuck in the Persian Gulf, effectively releasing stockpiles into the market. 

Goldman Sachs on Tuesday cut its price forecast on Brent crude to $80 a barrel in Q4 of this year, down from $90 a barrel, and said it expects Persian Gulf crude exports to return to pre-war levels by the end of July, one month earlier than previously expected. 

The outlook for higher US crude output is negative for oil prices.  The Department of Energy (DOE) last Tuesday raised its US 2026 crude production estimate to 13.72 million bpd from a May estimate of 13.65 million bpd.

Crude prices have support from the continued Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian oil infrastructure.  According to EA Analytics, Russian crude-processing rates averaged 4.32 million bpd in the first 10 days of June, the lowest in 20 years, amid damage to Russian energy infrastructure caused by drone and missile attacks from Ukraine.  According to Bloomberg, Ukrainian forces have struck three Russian fuel-producing facilities this month, following a record 17 attacks in May.  US and EU sanctions on Russian oil companies, infrastructure, and tankers have also curbed Russian oil exports.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) said in a monthly report released in May that global oil inventories declined at about 4 million bpd in March and April, and that the market will remain “severely undersupplied” until October, even if the conflict ends soon. Goldman Sachs estimates that crude output in the Persian Gulf has been curtailed by about 14.5 million bpd, and that the current disruption has drawn down nearly 500 million bbl from global crude stockpiles, which could hit a billion bbl by June.

As a bearish factor for crude, OPEC delegates said on May 14 that the cartel aims to continue a series of oil quota increases over the next few months, completing the return of halted oil production by the end of September.  The group already formally agreed to restore about two-thirds of the 1.65 million bpd supply cutback it made back in 2023 and said it plans to raise output targets further and to revive the final portion in three more monthly stages.  On May 3, OPEC+ said it will boost its crude output by 188,000 bpd in June after raising production by 206,000 bpd in May, although any production hike now seems unlikely given that Middle East producers are being forced to cut production due to the Middle East war.  OPEC’s May crude production fell by -3.36 million bpd to a 40-year low of 16.33 million bpd. 

Vortexa reported on Monday that crude oil stored on tankers that have been stationary for at least 7 days fell -6.9% w/w to 76.50 million bbl in the week ended June 12.

Wednesday’s weekly EIA report was mixed for crude oil and products.  On the bullish side, EIA crude inventories fell -8.26 million bbl to a 7.5-month low, a larger draw than expectations of -3.0 million bbl.  Also, crude supplies at Cushing, the delivery point of WTI futures, fell -1.61 million bbl to an 11-year low.  On the negative side, EIA distillate stockpiles unexpectedly rose +951,000 bbl versus expectations of a -500,000 bbl draw.   

Wednesday’s EIA report showed that (1) US crude oil inventories as of June 12 were -6.1% below the seasonal 5-year average, (2) gasoline inventories were -6.4% below the seasonal 5-year average, and (3) distillate inventories were -12.9% below the 5-year seasonal average.  US crude oil production in the week ending June 12 rose +0.1% w/w to 13.806 million bpd, mildly below the record high of 13.862 million bpd posted in the week of November 7.

Baker Hughes reported last Friday that the number of active US oil rigs in the week ended June 12 rose by +2 to an 11-month high of 433 rigs, up from the 4.25-year low of 406 rigs posted in December 2025.  However, the number of US oil rigs remains sharply below the 5.5-year high of 627 reported in December 2022.