US Crude Stocks Drop 8.3M Barrels, Sending Prices Higher

US commercial crude inventories plunged 8.3 million barrels to 418.2 million last week, far exceeding forecasts and extending a nine-week depletion of 52 million barrels. The draw coincided with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve falling to 340.3 million barrels, its lowest since 1983 after an 8.9 million barrel withdrawal. Although a preliminary US-Iran deal had earlier pressured prices lower by easing geopolitical risks, the latest tight inventory data triggered a sharp rebound in WTI crude, underscoring critically low commercial and emergency buffers despite the de-escalation.