HOUSTON (Reuters) - Stocks of crude oil in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by about 5.1 million barrels to 311.4 million barrels last week, the lowest level since March 1983, according to data from the Department of Energy.
The drawdowns are part of a U.S. agreement to release 172 million barrels from the facility. Since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began at the end of February, SPR inventories have fallen by 104.04 million barrels as of July 17.
Overall U.S. inventories, including commercial and SPR stocks, have fallen by 129 million barrels to 726.2 million barrels as of July 10, the lowest since 1984. The latest data to the end of last week is expected on Wednesday.