U.S. commercial crude oil inventories fell 3.2 million barrels during the week ending October 2, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly petroleum status report released Wednesday. The draw brings total commercial stockpiles to 424.1 million barrels, a level the agency pegs at 1% above the five-year average for the comparable week.

What did the EIA weekly report show?

The 3.2 MMbbl decline marks the latest move in U.S. commercial crude stocks and leaves the market above the five-year benchmark heading into the autumn maintenance season. Distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, held steady in the same EIA print.

The agency pegs total commercial crude at 424.1 MMbbl, 1% above the five-year average for the surveyed week. Government data ties the latest reading to refinery throughput, import flows and export demand during the surveyed period.

How does EIA's tally compare with API's?

The American Petroleum Institute released its private survey a day earlier, on Tuesday, and reported a 2.09 MMbbl decline in U.S. crude oil inventories for the same week. The narrower API draw versus the 3.2 MMbbl EIA decline marks a 1.1 MMbbl gap between the two reports, a divergence within the typical range observed between the government and private tallies.

Both surveys point the same direction: a drawdown week for U.S. crude stocks heading into October. The EIA series functions as the official government benchmark for inventory tracking, while the API tally, issued Tuesday evening, sets the early market tone ahead of the Wednesday release.

Where do inventories sit versus the five-year average?

Commercial crude at 1% above the five-year average is a modest cushion, not a glut, and tends to soften winter supply concerns for refiners and traders. Refinery maintenance, typically heaviest from late September through November, is the next swing factor on crude burn rates.

If distillate stocks begin to build in coming weeks, the read would suggest softer diesel demand or rising imports. A sustained distillate draw, by contrast, would tighten the heating-oil balance into the heating season.

What to watch next

The EIA's next weekly petroleum status report lands in seven days. The next API estimate arrives the prior evening. Both releases will frame the marginal read on U.S. crude balances through mid-October, alongside the refinery utilization rate, the import print and the diesel line that traders watch for early directional signals on product demand.

Traders will also watch the spread between the API and EIA weekly figures, a divergence that occasionally flags methodology shifts or reporting delays across the two surveys as the heating season approaches.