U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) stocks fell to 340.3 million barrels, the lowest level since 1983, according to boereport.com. The SPR drew down 8.9 million barrels of crude oil, the third steepest draw on record, also reported by boereport.com. The U.S. agreed to loan 172 million barrels from the SPR to help push down fuel prices, according to boereport.com. U.S. crude oil inventories, including commercial and SPR stocks, have fallen by 79 million barrels to 77.6 million barrels, the lowest since 2023, according to boereport.com. Strategic petroleum reserves are declining rapidly as countries release emergency crude supplies to cushion the economic impact of the Middle East conflict, according to dw. U.S. crude stocks have fallen sharply in recent weeks due to high refining and export demand for American oil to fill supply gaps caused by the Iran war, according to boereport.com. The U.S. is exporting record volumes of oil to Europe and Asia, according to bluesky. The SPR is the world's largest supply of emergency crude oil and has an authorized storage capacity of 714 million barrels, according to energy.gov. The SPR stores federally-owned oil in huge underground salt caverns at four sites along the coastline of the Gulf of America, according to energy.gov. The President may authorize emergency releases from the SPR pursuant to conditions set forth in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA), and the Secretary of Energy may authorize limited releases in the form of exchanges with non-federal entities, according to energy.gov.