Oil Prices Drop Amid Rising Inventories, Straits Reopen
WTI crude fell 1% to $73.12 as supply concerns eased and U.S. product stockpiles grew, while Bakken crude traded at a $3.42 discount.
Oil prices declined Tuesday, with West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude closing at $73.12 per barrel, a drop of 74 cents or 1%, according to live price data. Brent crude fell 1.22% to $76.95. Bakken crude traded at a $3.42 discount to WTI.
The decline was attributed in part to the resumption of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping channel, according to OilPrice.com. The report noted Brent was trading sharply lower Tuesday afternoon as those flows began to resume.
U.S. inventory data provided mixed signals for the market. The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated commercial crude oil inventories fell by 765,000 barrels for the week ending June 19, according to OilPrice.com. This follows a significant draw of 8.33 million barrels the prior week. Commercial stocks have fallen by 53 million barrels over the last ten weeks.
However, the drawdown in commercial stocks has been partially offset by releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Another 9.1 million barrels left the SPR last week, bringing the total to 331.2 million barrels—its lowest level in over four decades, OilPrice.com reported.
Meanwhile, inventories of refined products rose, easing some supply concerns. Gasoline stocks increased by 1.238 million barrels, while distillate inventories rose by 1.447 million barrels. Cushing, Oklahoma, storage hub inventories fell by 982,000 barrels.
U.S. oil production continues to rise. Data from the Energy Information Administration showed output reached 13.806 million barrels per day for the week ending June 12, up from 13.799 million bpd the week prior and 375,000 bpd higher than a year ago.
Impact on the Bakken For Bakken operators, the price move reinforces the region's exposure to broader market fundamentals. The Bakken differential held steady at a $3.42 discount to WTI. The rising U.S. production, which includes output from the Bakken formation, contributes to the domestic supply picture that is tempering price gains despite falling commercial inventories.
The continued draws from the SPR, while supporting commercial stock levels, highlight long-term supply concerns that could influence future price volatility. For North Dakota producers, the current price environment near $73 WTI remains workable, but the discount for Bakken crude underscores the ongoing importance of pipeline and rail takeaway capacity to connect production to markets.
Source
Live price data; OilPrice.com report published June 23, 2026.
