The government reported this week the amount of crude oil held at the Cushing hub increased slightly since Christmas Eve, reaching a total of 37.3 million barrels, perhaps due to a growing number of more COVID-19 cases and less demand for gasoline.
It represented an increase of 2.6 million barrels since December 24, 2021. The 37.3 million barrels was the amount stored at Cushing as of December 31, 2021.
The slight increase follows national and global trends as demand for crude fell because of less demand as COVID-19 cases spiked across the country.
A year ago, Cushing held 59.2 million barrels so the amount held at the end of 2021 was 37% less.
Two years ago, Cushing held 35.5 million barrels. The most recent figure is 5.1% higher. Cushing has a reported storage capacity of 90 million barrels.