Inventories
Near normalUS propane inventories
Propane and propylene in primary storage, EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report
Data through Oct 23, 2026 · source last checked Oct 31, 2026 · page revised Oct 29, 2026
Cite
- Stocks
About this data
- Source
- EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report
- Series
- Propane and propylene ending stocks
- Basis
- Primary storage, excluding propylene at terminal
- Geography
- United States
- Unit
- million barrels
- Calculation
- Weekly ending stocks
- Last observation
- Oct 23, 2026
- Update frequency
- Weekly
Now 105.7 million barrels, 4.1% above the 5-yr median.
Propane stocks held at 105.7 million barrels as of October 23, 4.1% above the 5-yr median. Inventories fell 3.6% over the prior four weeks and are essentially flat year-over-year.
| Period | Current | Prior | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week over week | 105.7 million barrels | 105.8 million barrels | -0.1% |
| vs 4 weeks ago | 105.7 million barrels | 109.6 million barrels | -3.6% |
| Year over year | 105.7 million barrels | 105.7 million barrels | +0.1% |
| vs 5-yr median | 105.7 million barrels | 101.5 million barrels | +4.1% |
| Region | Latest | Week over week | Year over year | vs 5-yr median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PADD 1 (East Coast) | 9.3 million barrels | +10.4% | -0.4% | +5.2% |
| PADD 1A (New England) | 0.9 million barrels | -0.2% | +8.0% | +9.0% |
| PADD 1B (Central Atlantic) | 6.5 million barrels | +14.9% | -2.9% | +10.9% |
| PADD 1C (Lower Atlantic) | 1.9 million barrels | +1.7% | +4.8% | +4.8% |
| PADD 2 (Midwest) | 25.2 million barrels | -3.4% | -10.6% | -6.8% |
| PADD 3 (Gulf Coast) | 65.6 million barrels | -0.6% | +4.7% | +11.4% |
| PADD 4-5 (Rockies and West Coast) | 5.7 million barrels | +5.1% | +2.1% | +2.1% |
| Cycle | Fall peak (week) | This week of the year | Winter low (week) | Winter draw |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 (so far) | 110.5 million barrels (Sep 4, 2026) | 105.7 million barrels (Oct 23, 2026) | not yet | – |
| 2025-26 | 106.1 million barrels (Oct 31, 2025) | 105.7 million barrels (Oct 24, 2025) | 71.7 million barrels (Mar 6, 2026) | 34.4 million barrels (32% of peak) |
| 2024-25 | 103.1 million barrels (Oct 11, 2024) | 101.5 million barrels (Oct 25, 2024) | 43.2 million barrels (Mar 21, 2025) | 60.0 million barrels (58% of peak) |
| 2023-24 | 102.4 million barrels (Oct 20, 2023) | 102.4 million barrels (Oct 20, 2023) | 51.2 million barrels (Mar 1, 2024) | 51.3 million barrels (50% of peak) |
| 2022-23 | 90.6 million barrels (Nov 25, 2022) | 86.8 million barrels (Oct 21, 2022) | 55.5 million barrels (Apr 14, 2023) | 35.2 million barrels (39% of peak) |
| 2021-22 | 76.1 million barrels (Oct 29, 2021) | 75.7 million barrels (Oct 22, 2021) | 33.3 million barrels (Mar 11, 2022) | 42.8 million barrels (56% of peak) |
The fall peak is the highest weekly level from July through December, the winter low the lowest from January through June of the next year, and the draw is peak minus low. 'This week of the year' is the week closest to this page's latest reading in each cycle. EIA weekly stocks in primary storage.
Previous weeks
Week of Oct 16, 2026
Propane stocks fell to 105.8 million barrels in the week through October 16, down 0.5% from the prior week. They sit 4% above the 5-year median, a comfortable entry into heating season.
Week of Oct 9, 2026
Stocks fell 1.4% to 106.4 million barrels on the week ended 2026-10-09, remaining 4.8% above the 5-yr median despite sliding 2.5% over the prior four weeks. Year over year, inventory sits 3.9% higher.
Week of Oct 2, 2026
Propane stocks fell 1.7 million barrels to 107.8 million barrels for the week through October 2. Stocks sit 8.1% above the 5-year median and are up 7.3% from a year ago.
Week of Sep 25, 2026
Propane stocks rose to 109.6 million barrels, up 1.6% on the week and 12.1% above the 5-year median. Year over year, inventories are up 6.1%, with builds running through summer into September ahead of the heating season.
About US propane inventories
Propane stocks are the inventory held in underground storage and bulk terminals, the buffer between the plants that produce propane and the trucks that deliver it. EIA reports the national total every week, and the market reads a bigger draw than expected as a sign of tighter supply, a bigger build as a sign of ample supply. Stocks build from spring through summer, then draw down through the heating season as furnaces and grain dryers pull from the tank. The chart's five-year band is the yardstick: a reading near the band is normal for the season, one below it signals a thinner cushion for winter. PADD 3, the Gulf Coast, holds the country's largest concentration of storage and supplies the rest of the country by pipeline; PADD 1 and PADD 2 are the consuming regions. The regional table above breaks the national total out by district.
The number counts primary storage only: propane and propylene held at gas processing plants, refineries, pipelines and bulk terminals. The tank behind a house, the dealer's yard tank and the bobtail truck on its route are secondary storage, and none of it is in this series, which is why national stocks can look comfortable in October while a local market is already short. EIA publishes the figure in the Weekly Petroleum Status Report on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. Eastern, covering the week that ended the previous Friday, and pushes the release to Thursday when a federal holiday falls in the week. Weekly numbers are estimates that later monthly data trues up, so a single print can move when the revision arrives. Traders position against a consensus estimate ahead of the release, which is why a build or draw that misses expectations moves the futures curve on the morning it lands.
Common questions
Is United States propane inventory high or low right now?
United States propane stocks stood at 105.7 million barrels as of Oct 23, 2026, 4.1% above the 5-year median of 101.5 million barrels for this point in the year. A level over the band means more cushion than usual for the season ahead.
What is the 5-year average for United States propane stocks?
101.5 million barrels for this week of the year, measured as the 5-year median rather than a flat annual average, because propane inventories swing hard by season and a single yearly number would compare a March level against an August one. Propane inventories and the 5-year average explains how to read the band.
How do propane stock levels affect prices?
Inventory is the cushion between winter demand and the physical supply that can reach a market in time. When stocks run under their seasonal band going into October, buyers competing for a thinner cushion bid up the Mont Belvieu spot price, and delivered prices follow with a lag as dealers replace barrels at the higher cost. A comfortable build has the opposite effect: it absorbs a cold snap without a price response.
When are United States propane inventories typically lowest?
Nationally the low comes at the end of the heating season, ordinarily March, after five months of draw. The build runs April through September and the level entering October is what the winter has to work with.
How much do United States propane stocks fall over a winter?
Over the last 5 winters, United States stocks fell from their fall peak to their late-winter low by between 34.4 million barrels (winter 2025-26) and 60.0 million barrels (winter 2024-25). The low came in March 4 times, April once. The build-and-draw table above lists each year's peak, low and the level at this point in the year.