Week ending
WTI delivery-point inventory
Cushing Crude Inventory Chart
Crude stocks at the NYMEX WTI delivery point in Cushing, Oklahoma, measured against the five-year seasonal average. Updated weekly from the EIA.
LOW inventory versus season
tighter physical balanceHIGH inventory versus season
looser physical balance A percentile read on physical balance.-4.1 million barrels
+0.8 million barrels vs normal
0th percentile of five-year sample
Seasonal inventory curve
Cushing: current year vs history
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Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (Sep 2026). Published Sep 16, 2026.
How the curve is calculated
View recent weekly values
| Week ending | Inventory | Weekly price context |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 26, 2026 | 19.7 million barrels | 73.59 |
| Jul 3, 2026 | 19.6 million barrels | 70.48 |
| Jul 10, 2026 | 20.0 million barrels | 72.26 |
| Jul 17, 2026 | 19.4 million barrels | 80.77 |
| Jul 24, 2026 | 18.6 million barrels | 88.58 |
| Jul 31, 2026 | 21.0 million barrels | 84.51 |
| Aug 7, 2026 | 22.6 million barrels | 78.94 |
| Aug 14, 2026 | 21.3 million barrels | 84.05 |
| Aug 21, 2026 | 22.4 million barrels | 87.35 |
| Aug 28, 2026 | 22.5 million barrels | 84.62 |
| Sep 4, 2026 | 21.8 million barrels | 91.18 |
| Sep 11, 2026 | 21.5 million barrels | 99.08 |
About this series
Why one Oklahoma hub moves a global benchmark.
A small hub with outsized pricing power
Cushing holds a small fraction of US crude, but it is the designated physical delivery point for NYMEX WTI futures. Contracts settle against barrels sitting in those tanks, which gives a regional inventory number direct leverage over a benchmark used to price crude worldwide. That structural fact, not the volume, is what makes this series worth watching separately.
The floor that's never empty
The hub has a hard operational floor. Tank bottoms — the residual volume that cannot be pumped out without drawing sediment or damaging equipment — mean Cushing can never practically empty. As stocks approach that floor, the remaining usable buffer shrinks faster than the headline number suggests, and the market tends to price the constraint rather than the level.
Why Cushing and national stocks diverge
Cushing can also diverge sharply from national crude stocks. Pipeline capacity governs how readily barrels move between the Midwest and the Gulf Coast, so strong export demand can drain Cushing while the national total holds steady. Comparing this page against the US commercial crude curve is usually more informative than reading either alone.
- Series
- EIA PET.W_EPC0_SAX_YCUOK_MBBL.W
- Measures
- Ending crude stocks at the hub
- Coverage
- Cushing, Oklahoma
- Unit
- Million barrels
- Released
- Wednesday, 10:30 a.m. ET
- Price overlay
- WTI and Brent weekly spot
Compare across the balance
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Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (Sep 2026).
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Source: Energy-Charts.info, Fraunhofer ISE (CC BY 4.0).
Open Energy-Charts sourceQuestions, answered from the method
Cushing inventory FAQ
Why one Oklahoma hub carries outsized weight for WTI, and what its tank levels can and cannot tell you.
Which EIA series does the Cushing curve use?
EIA API v2 series PET.W_EPC0_SAX_YCUOK_MBBL.W — ending stocks of crude oil at Cushing, Oklahoma, converted to million barrels.
Why does Cushing matter more than its size suggests?
Cushing is the designated physical delivery point for NYMEX WTI crude futures. Contract settlement happens against barrels there, so local tightness at that one hub can affect WTI pricing even when national crude stocks look ample.
Is the Cushing level the same as available tank capacity?
No. The EIA series reports stocks held, not a live measure of usable working capacity. Leased space, pipeline scheduling, and operational constraints all affect how much of the nominal capacity is genuinely available at any moment.
What are tank bottoms, and why do they set a floor?
A portion of each tank cannot be withdrawn without risking damage or drawing sediment and off-spec crude into the pipeline. That operational minimum means Cushing can never practically reach zero, so very low readings compress against a floor rather than continuing to fall freely.
Why can Cushing diverge from national crude inventories?
Pipeline capacity determines how easily barrels move between the Midwest and the Gulf Coast. When export demand pulls crude toward the coast, Cushing can drain while national stocks hold steady, and infrastructure changes can shift that relationship over time.
Which price is shown alongside Cushing stocks?
Weekly WTI Cushing spot price from EIA series PET.RWTC.W, aligned to the same observation dates as the inventory series.