Gasoline and diesel prices are displayed at a gas station in El Monte, Los Angeles County, California, the United States, Aug. 26, 2026. U.S. inventories of distillate fuel oil fell last week as retail diesel prices rose to their highest level in more than four years, government data showed Wednesday.(Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. inventories of distillate fuel oil fell last week as retail diesel prices rose to their highest level in more than four years, government data showed Wednesday.
Distillate stocks fell by 2.2 million barrels in the week ending Aug. 21 to 103.4 million barrels, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. The level was about 14 percent below the five-year average for this time of year and 9.5 percent below a year earlier.
The reading was the lowest for any August week since the EIA's weekly series began in 1982. Stocks were lower in late May, at about 100.8 million barrels, before recovering in June and July, the data showed.
Distillate fuel oil includes diesel used by trucks, trains and farm machinery as well as heating oil, according to the EIA. The agency said demand for such fuels typically rises during the autumn harvest and winter heating season.
Refineries operated at 97.4 percent of their operable capacity last week, while distillate production averaged about 5.1 million barrels per day, the agency said.
In its August Short-Term Energy Outlook, the EIA said global refined-product markets had tightened. It cited lower Russian refined-product exports and renewed conflict around the Strait of Hormuz, which has limited product flows from refineries in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
According to data released by the American Automobile Association, the national average retail price of diesel hit 5.62 U.S. dollars per gallon on Tuesday, compared with about 3.70 dollars per gallon a year earlier. ■
Gasoline and diesel prices are displayed at a gas station in El Monte, Los Angeles County, California, the United States, Aug. 26, 2026.
U.S. inventories of distillate fuel oil fell last week as retail diesel prices rose to their highest level in more than four years, government data showed Wednesday.(Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)