US distillate inventories sat 10 percent below the previous five year average for the week ending July 17, 2026, even after a weekly build of 1.4 million barrels, according to Energy Information Administration data. Distillate covers diesel and heating oil, the fuels that move freight and heat homes through winter.

The rest of the petroleum complex shows a similar shortfall against recent history. Commercial crude oil inventories, which exclude the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, increased 2.0 million barrels to 411.7 million barrels and remain 6 percent below the five year average. Gasoline inventories rose 0.8 million barrels and stand 7 percent below that benchmark. Propane and propylene stocks moved the other way, rising 6.3 million barrels to a level 34 percent above the five year average. Total commercial petroleum inventories increased 11.6 million barrels on the week.

Refineries ran hard during the period. US plants operated at 96.1 percent of capacity and processed 17.1 million barrels per day, down 58,000 barrels per day from the prior week. Gasoline output averaged 9.7 million barrels per day and distillate production rose to 5.3 million barrels per day.

Imports tightened the picture further. Crude oil imports increased 117,000 barrels per day to 5.8 million barrels per day, though the four week average of 5.6 million barrels per day came in 11 percent below the same period a year earlier. Over four weeks, total product demand averaged 20.4 million barrels per day, with distillate demand up 2 percent at 3.7 million barrels per day.

Source: US Energy Information Administration - https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=67868