EIA

The EIA published its weekly petroleum status report for the week to 24 July on 29 July, recording a national commercial crude draw of 7.2 million barrels that Left stocks at 404.5 million, roughly 7% under the five-year seasonal average. Distillate stocks rose 1.1 million barrels to 110.6 million, still around 10% below average, while refiners ran at 97.2% utilisation processing 17.3 million barrels a day of crude.

That release fell the same week WTI at Cushing spiked to $91.74 before giving most of the gain back by 27 July, a reminder that a single EIA print can move futures pricing even while the broader distillate trend barely shifts week to week.

Through May and June, the EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report charted a US distillate deficit that repeatedly widened even as crude drew down: 13% below the five-year average in the week to 12 June, still 11% below by 10 July after a partial build, before narrowing slightly to 10% by 17 July.

Crude stocks meanwhile logged nine consecutive weekly draws before posting a single build on 17 July, the first sign in that report that the drawdown supporting Brent and WTI gains might be slowing. The two series, crude and distillate, moved in opposite directions across several of the EIA's own releases in this stretch, a divergence the report itself made visible week by week.