Aug 25, 2026
Bloomberg: Asia Buyers Snap Up American Crude, Add Stress to Tight Market
Asian refiners are set to nearly double purchases of US crude in September to more than 40 million barrels, up from about 22 million barrels in August. The surge is expected to tighten US crude supplies, particularly sour grades favored by domestic refiners, and could push prices and gasoline costs higher. US refiners are already operating near record rates, while no additional Strategic Petroleum Reserve releases are planned. Increased Asian buying is also likely to divert US barrels from Europe and limit the seasonal buildup of US crude inventories.
Since our readers were way ahead on this subject of the media and other publications, we reposted the chart we posted 10 days ago (Figure 1). Here is why we write this:
Figure 1 shows quarterly US crude exports to Asia. Exports reached a record high in May. Exports skyrocketed in the second quarter, mostly to Japan and south Korea. The increase to Japan is the most notable.
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