Oklahoma’s Cushing Hub was not part of the unexpected build in national crude oil stocks in the past week, a build that sent crude prices down about $1 a barrel in Wednesday’s trading.
While the nation’s crude oil storage gained a surprise 1.9 million barrels, reaching 787.4 million barrels, Cushing’s total fell half a percentage point. Cushing dropped from 34.7 million barrels on Dec. 29, 2023 to 34.2 million barrels as of Jan. 5, 2024.
The total in the Cushing hub was still 23% higher than a year ago when there were 27.8 million barrels in storage. Two years ago, Cushing held 34.8 million barrels so the current storage is about 2% less.