Oil stocks in US Strategic Petroleum Reserve fall by 3.1 million barrels to lowest level since 1982

Crude oil inventories held within the United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) fell by approximately 3.1 million barrels last week, bringing total reserves down to 286.6 million barrels, according to official data released by the Department of Energy. This latest draw pushes the nation's emergency crude stockpiles to their lowest level since November 1982. The ongoing drawdowns represent part of a broader U.S. government initiative to release 172 million barrels from the strategic storage facility to manage energy prices and offset supply strains. The steady reduction has substantially eroded the federal cushion available to absorb potential supply disruptions in global oil markets. Market participants are closely tracking the depletion of the emergency oil stash amid broader geopolitical tensions. With the strategic stockpile sitting at multi-decade lows, energy analysts note that future supply shocks could lead to heightened price volatility and structural upward pressure on crude oil benchmarks as inventory replenishment becomes necessary.