The Commodities Feed: Dwindling oil inventories leave market increasingly vulnerable in Oil & Companies News 04/06/2026 Energy – US crude inventories continue to decline Re-escalation in the Persian Gulf pushed oil prices higher yesterday, with fresh attacks once again casting doubt over a resumption of energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz. There also appear to be mixed messages about the progress in negotiations between the US and Iran. President Trump says talks are moving in the right direction; Iranian media reports that no tangible progress has been made. News that Israel and Lebanon agreed on a ceasefire could potentially open the door for talks to advance. Iran has been adamant that any ceasefire with the US is dependent on a halt in fighting in Lebanon. Every day that passes without a resumption of oil flows leaves the market increasingly vulnerable. This increases the pressure to strike a deal. Inventories have provided a cushion for the oil market. However, even if we see an imminent restart of oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, the recovery will be slow and gradual. This suggests inventories are likely to continue to tighten into the third quarter, leaving upside risk to prices. This ties in with comments from Kuwait Petroleum, which said it would take 6-8 weeks to get Kuwaiti output back to 70% of normal levels once the strait reopens. Then, it would take another month for output to return to normal. Weekly inventory numbers from the EIA show that US commercial crude oil inventories fell by 7.97m barrels over the last week. This leaves the total inventory draw over the last month and a half at 32m barrels. While inventories do fall seasonally as refiners ramp up operating rates, the pace of decline has been faster than usual. When taking into consideration releases from the strategic petroleum reserve, total crude inventories fell by 15.97m barrels over the last week. Refined product inventories increased over the week, with gasoline and di