Thin Hormuz traffic lifts oil while US natural-gas storage keeps building
Brent headed for a 4 per cent weekly gain as Hormuz traffic stayed thin, while US natural-gas storage rose by 36 billion cubic feet and widened the supply cushion.
Economics & Markets··Midday
Brent heads for a 4 per cent week
According to OilPrice.com, Brent traded at 87.12 dollars and WTI at 81.36 dollars, with Brent heading for a 4 per cent weekly gain. Tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained far below pre-war levels. US crude inventories rose by more than 17.4 million barrels last week, a build that would usually weigh on prices. Susan Bell of Rystad Energy said the geopolitical backdrop was preventing a sharper decline. Both the IEA and OPEC cut their 2026 demand outlooks this week; OPEC lowered its growth forecast to 580,000 barrels a day from 780,000, while the IEA pointed to a shortfall of 1.8 million barrels a day in the current quarter. The price move is therefore read alongside thin strait traffic and the geopolitical backdrop even as inventories rose and demand forecasts were cut.[1]
US gas storage rose 36 billion cubic feet
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that working gas in underground storage increased by 36 billion cubic feet in the week ending 7 August, taking the total to 3,153 billion cubic feet. Stocks were 25 billion cubic feet below the level of a year earlier. The five-year average is 2,955 billion cubic feet, and stocks stand 198 billion cubic feet above it. The weekly build widens the storage cushion: stocks remain a little below last year yet clearly above the five-year average. The bulletin adds no price commentary or demand forecast; it measures the weekly change in working gas and the year-ago and five-year comparisons. For the reader the figure set is clear: a weekly fill of 36 billion cubic feet, stocks of 3,153 billion cubic feet, and a cushion of 198 billion cubic feet above the average.[2]
Oil tightness, gas cushion
The two energy releases point in different directions in the same week. On the oil side, Brent at 87.12 dollars and WTI at 81.36 dollars headed for a 4 per cent weekly gain while Hormuz traffic stayed thin; the US crude build of more than 17.4 million barrels and the lower 2026 demand outlooks from OPEC and the IEA do not by themselves explain the price. Susan Bell's Rystad Energy comment treats the geopolitical backdrop as what prevents a sharper decline, balancing the inventory and demand easing. On the gas side, the EIA's 36 billion cubic feet storage rise, the 3,153 billion cubic feet total and the 198 billion cubic feet cushion above the five-year average show a widening supply buffer. The sources do not merge oil and gas into one energy-tightness story. The practical distinction is concrete: strait traffic and geopolitics support the oil price while underground gas stores keep filling on a weekly basis and remaining above the long-run average.[1], [2]
