DENVER, April 29 - U.S. weekly energy data show the country shipped a record volume of crude oil abroad and, for the first time on a weekly basis, exported more crude than it imported, the Energy Information Administration reported. The export surge coincided with sizeable reductions in domestic crude and refined product inventories.
Record exports and negative net imports
Total U.S. crude exports rose to a record 6.44 million barrels per day, an increase of 1.64 million bpd from the prior week. That jump pushed net imports - measured as imports minus exports - down by 1.97 million bpd to minus 688,000 bpd, meaning weekly outflows exceeded inflows. On an annual basis, the U.S. was last a net crude exporter in 1943, and on a monthly basis in 1944.
Market reaction was immediate: futures prices extended gains after the report. At 12:35 p.m. ET (1635 GMT), global Brent crude futures were trading at $119.37 a barrel, up $8.11, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were at $106.91, up $7.06 a barrel.
Inventories and product balances
The surge in exports contributed to a 6.2 million-barrel decline in U.S. crude inventories for the week ended April 24, leaving stocks at 459.5 million barrels. Analysts in a Reuters poll had anticipated a 231,000-barrel draw. At the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub, crude stocks fell by 796,000 barrels.
"Refineries didn’t change. Domestic production was unchanged. It was all about the export numbers. Those barrels are going overseas rather than into storage," said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho.
Combined exports of crude oil and petroleum products also reached a record 14.18 million bpd, up 1.298 million bpd from the week prior.
On the fuel side, U.S. gasoline inventories dropped by 6.1 million barrels to 222.3 million barrels, compared with market expectations for a 2.1 million-barrel draw. The data marked the 11th consecutive week of gasoline draws. U.S. gasoline futures rose more than 5% to $3.74, their highest level since 2022.
Distillate stocks, a category that includes diesel and heating oil, fell by 4.5 million barrels to 103.6 million barrels, versus expectations for a 2.2 million-barrel decline. Analysts noted draws to both gasoline and distillate inventories amid constrained refinery runs.
"With refinery runs still in check, solid draws were seen to both gasoline and distillate inventories," said Matt Smith, an analyst with ship tracking firm Kpler.
Refinery operations showed modest increases: crude runs rose by 84,000 barrels per day for the week, and refinery utilization climbed by 0.5 percentage point to 89.6%. Product supplied, a proxy for demand, increased by 1.4 million bpd to 21.13 million bpd.
Drivers cited in the report
The EIA data and market commentators linked the surge in demand for U.S. barrels abroad to the shipping disruptions and supply dislocations following military conflict involving Iran. Those developments have pushed buyers in Europe and Asia to source more crude from the Americas, and have interrupted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway noted in the report as handling about one-fifth of global oil and gas supplies.
This set of weekly figures underscores tightness across crude and refined product balances as exports climb and domestic stocks fall, while price benchmarks responded with sharp gains.