According to the Shanghai Aviation Exchange, data released by the US Energy Information Administration this week shows that for the week ending August 28, 2026, US commercial crude oil inventories excluding strategic reserves fell by 4.45 million barrels to 424 million barrels, a decrease of 1.04%. US domestic crude oil production increased by 19,000 barrels to 13.862 million b/d, crude oil exports increased by 691,000 b/d to 4.483 million b/d, and crude oil imports increased by 6.770 million b/d, up 612,000 b/d from the previous week. The average four-week supply of crude oil products was 20.449 million b/d, down 3.91% from the same period last year. The decline in US commercial crude oil inventories far exceeded the market's previous expectations of about 300,000 barrels. It was the first time since the end of July that there was such an obvious decline in inventory; the refinery operating rate rose to 98%, the highest level since August 2018, and the refinery's crude oil processing volume increased by about 103,000 b/d. On September 1, the US military launched the largest round of military attacks on Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran since July. The operation continued for about six and a half hours. Iran then launched a multinational retaliatory counterattack, launching joint missile and drone attacks on US military targets located in the Middle East region. The tense geographical situation supported oil prices. The price of Brent crude oil futures rose at a high level this week. It was reported at 95.75 US dollars/barrel on Thursday, up 7.34% from August 27. Freight rates for VLCC tankers in the global crude oil transportation market are rising at a high level. Freight rates in China's imported VLCC transportation market have risen sharply. On September 3, the Shanghai Shipping Exchange released the China Imported Crude Oil Composite Index at 8413.38 points, up 16.0% from August 27.

According to the Shanghai Aviation Exchange, data released by the US Energy Information Administration this week shows that for the week ending August 28, 2026, US commercial crude oil inventories excluding strategic reserves fell by 4.45 million barrels to 424 million barrels, a decrease of 1.04%. US domestic crude oil production increased by 19,000 barrels to 13.862 million b/d, crude oil exports increased by 691,000 b/d to 4.483 million b/d, and crude oil imports increased by 6.770 million b/d, up 612,000 b/d from the previous week. The average four-week supply of crude oil products was 20.449 million b/d, down 3.91% from the same period last year. The decline in US commercial crude oil inventories far exceeded the market's previous expectations of about 300,000 barrels. It was the first time since the end of July that there was such an obvious decline in inventory; the refinery operating rate rose to 98%, the highest level since August 2018, and the refinery's crude oil processing volume increased by about 103,000 b/d. On September 1, the US military launched the largest round of military attacks on Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran since July. The operation continued for about six and a half hours. Iran then launched a multinational retaliatory counterattack, launching joint missile and drone attacks on US military targets located in the Middle East region. The tense geographical situation supported oil prices. The price of Brent crude oil futures rose at a high level this week. It was reported at 95.75 US dollars/barrel on Thursday, up 7.34% from August 27. Freight rates for VLCC tankers in the global crude oil transportation market are rising at a high level. Freight rates in China's imported VLCC transportation market have risen sharply. On September 3, the Shanghai Shipping Exchange released the China Imported Crude Oil Composite Index at 8413.38 points, up 16.0% from August 27.