The SPR is the lowest since 1982, but days should be the big concern. 
According to the Energy Information Agency, the Weekly U.S. Ending Stocks of Crude Oil in the Strategy Petroleum Reserve (SPR) are at the lowest level since 1982.
Strategic Reserves Millions of Barrels
Strategic Reserves Millions of Barrels Detail
Reserves in barrels don’t accurately present the severity of the situation.
Strategic Oil Reserves Supply in Days
Dwindling SPR Rising Demand
Reserves are sinking while demand is rising. The lead chart tells this important story better than raw SPR numbers.
Supply in days is the volume of the SPR divided by product supplied, both numbers from the EIA.
Operation Epic Fury that kicked off the War in Iran was February 28, 2026.
At the start of war, the SPR has a supply of 20.9 days. The US now has a supply of 14.8 days.
Trump is using reserves to hold down the price of gasoline at the pump.
Do you think Iran does not understand these reserve numbers?
Crazy Talk
Talk of spending another month to secure the strait is crazy talk. We don’t have a month.
Besides, there is no guarantee that a month is sufficient timeline to secure the strait.
No Winning Options
Trump is fuming because he has no winning options. His best option was the MOU ceasefire that he just trashed.
Trump could have and should have bragged about what a great deal that was. Instead he reopened the war and does not know what to do with it.
So, here we are with two weeks of reserves and no oil flowing through the strait.
Grok on the Numbers
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Not only is the US running low on weapons, the SPR is down to two weeks supply.
Before the SPR is empty, levels below 170 million barrels will cause irreparable damage to the SPR. When viewed in that light it is significantly worse than what Mish is presenting.
What will happen to oil prices if there is a major Gulf of Mexico Hurricane or Canada rightfully puts an export tariff/fee on the oil they sell us. By then the SPR will be nothing but pools of oil and salt sludge.
Trump is the poster child for FAILURE!
It would be a shame if the SPR salt caverns collapse. That would render them unusable in the future. If Trump withdraws all 172 million authorized barrels, the SPR will drop to 235 mb.
Here is some additional SPR info.
The US Congress bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 mandated SPR sales of 58 million barrels from the SPR from 2018 to 2025.
The US Congress bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 mandated additional SPR sales of 30 million barrels from the SPR from 2022 to 2025.
The US Congress bipartisan Budget Act of 2022 mandated additional SPR sales of 100 million barrels from the SPR from 2022 to 2027.
These bipartisan budget acts were enacted because Congress thought the US SPR was not needed anymore thanks to the shale boom that brought US oil production from 4 mbpd to 13 mbpd. Congress felt the SPR was no longer needed and a source of funds. That’s a total of 188 million barrels.
In addition, Biden drew out 180 million barrels in 2022 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Biden then authorized refilling the SPR with 200 million barrels. However congress only gave him enough money to add 59 million barrels before they cut off the funding. However, congress also stopped the remaining mandatory sales that had not yet happened from their 3 previous budget acts.(141 mb)
Trump likes to say that he filled the SPR, but he never added a drop of oil in his first term. The SPR actually dropped in his first term because of the congressional mandated sales.
Trump had an opportunity to add oil to the SPR when he began his second term. This would have been a good idea, considering he was about to attack Iran. But he didn’t.
Trump has authorized drawing out 172 million barrels, and has so far taken out 100 mb.
It is unknown how low the SPR can go. Most “experts” suggest 250-300 mb is the lowest the SPR can go before struggling to pump more out, and the possible collapse of the salt caverns. The Trump administration says it can go as low as 70 mb.
A few weeks ago we were drawing over 9 mb per week. This has now dropped to 7 mb per week, as the pressure is dropping as the SPR declines. As the SPR drops below 300 mb, it will be interesting to see how much can be pumped each week. We are going to find out soon if the SPR starts running into issues.
In addition to SPR draws, we are also drawing from commercial crude inventories and from refined product inventories. Commercial crude inventories are down to 411 mb, which is 6% below the 5 year average. Gasoline inventories are currently 6% below the 5 year average. Diesel inventories are 13% below the 5 year average.
Thanks. 70mb, yet 5-6 weeks ago he said we were 4 weeks away from running out. I wish someone would ask him about that.
Hamas has confirmed that it has reached a deal over the decommissioning of its weapons after Donald Trump announced an agreement for the militant group’s “complete disarmament,” calling it a critical step toward a new Palestinian government in Gaza.
In a post on Truth Social, the US President said: “Today, the Board of Peace Reached a HISTORIC Agreement for the COMPLETE DISARMAMENT of Hamas and All Other Armed Groups in Gaza.”
(Israel has not respond)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-31/trump-says-gaza-deal-on-disarming-hamas-israel-withdrawal/106980528
The only surprise here is that anyone thought Trump would do anything other than what he has done. He is a vicious but not smart man.
Obviously not! They’re all turban clad dervishes who worship the moon god or something! Dumb as rocks, each and every one of the mullahs! They don’t stand a chance! We’ll win any day now! We’re doing great! We’ve already won several times! The DOW is over 50,000! This is a new golden age and anyone who can’t see that is insane or something!
“U.S. crude oil production reached a record high of 13.6 million barrels per day in July 2026, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). When including natural gas plant liquids and other petroleum liquids, total U.S. oil production averaged 23.6 million barrels per day in 2025.”
The math is complicated by the fact that not all daily use is from the SPR.
What will most likely break is imports from countries that have little SPR, and are supplying wares to the world.
That’s going to make it really hard to convince voters in November to “stick with the plan”.
September-October will be desperate times.
Gosh, that’s interesting, because when gas was at all time LOW prices during Trump 45 …he wanted to fill the reserve … but the left accused him of supporting his oil buddies and stopped it. Now gas is expensive and it’s Trump’s fault for not filling the reserve. Hmmm.
As Columbo said many times, “Just one more thing”.
Why is gas expensive Mike?
I’m sure you’re looking for a 4 word answer like “because Trump is horrible”. It’s not that simple. Yes, the Iran war is having an impact, but it is still cheaper than Biden gas. The Ukraine war is having an impact, but it is still cheaper than Biden gas. If you listen purely to Mish … you will think Trump inflation is far worse than Bidenflation … but there are actually a whole lot of issues in play.
LOL. When has ANYthing EVER stopped Trump from doing ANYthing he wants to do??!!
So he made his plans clear and Schumer and company went ballistic and accused him of paying off his oil buddies. Gas was lower than it had been for over a decade (less than $1.50/gallon). I could go back and find the articles, but doesn’t seem like the facts are going to sway you here.
Pathetic excuse. If Trump really wants to do something, he does not allow ANYTHING to stop him. Not even US law.
Everyone can read the charts
2017 to 2020 (Trump 45) was a steady drawdown, not level, not adding
who was authorizing that?
Was it Biden or was it Obama?
So are you claiming you never read the news and that you don’t know about Trump’s attempt to replenish with gas at historically low values and the democrats going ballistic and claiming he was paying off his oil buddies? Are we really going to deny reality to push this one?
If, through the democrats’ fault, the SRP was woefully low, why did he break all campaign promises and start this illegal, unconstitutional, immoral and criminally stupid war?
Bullshit! Trump could and should have bought oil to fill the SPR during covid. But he did not, because he is simply not that smart.
He was busy calling covid a hoax and telling people to treat it with horsey medicine and bleach.
How did those Trump tariffs work out? Did they pay off the debt? Where is your $5,000 check?
Face it ~ Trump lied to you and you swallowed it, hook, line and sinker.
The day of the election, Biden had gas down to $2.65 at my local Shell Station. Today it is $4.39. Thank Trump for every cent of the increase of $1.74 per gallon. Those are the simple facts.
The only reason gas got so cheap during his first term is Trump brought the economy to a standstill during Covid and supplies overwhelmed demand. Then when the economy opened up again under Biden supplies became tight because so many wells had been shut in.
Sorry the facts do not align with your MAGA cult nonsense.
Trump is economically illiterate.