US oil reserves may be much lower than API's optimistic estimates — OilPrice

The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported an unexpected increase in US crude oil inventories. For the week ending July 11, stockpiles rose by 19.1 million barrels. This marked the second consecutive surge and the largest growth in ten years.

However, data from other sources, including Reuters, show a different picture. According to them, the actual increase in reserves was only 800,000 barrels. This figure is significantly lower than the API's initial estimate.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Energy reported that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) decreased by 300,000 barrels to 402.7 million barrels.

As OilPrice notes, this conflicting data has increased uncertainty in the market. Brent and WTI oil prices remain under pressure and fluctuate in response to the unclear supply and demand situation. Traditionally, growth in demand during the summer contributes to a decrease in reserves, but the API reports that the opposite trend is occurring this year.