# US propane inventories Propane and propylene in primary storage, EIA Weekly Petroleum Status Report _Data through Aug 28, 2026 · source last checked Sep 2, 2026 · page revised Sep 2, 2026_ > Now 107.4 million barrels, 12.5% above the 5-yr median. ## The numbers | Period | Current | Prior | Change | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Week over week | 107.4 million barrels | 109.5 million barrels | -1.9% | | vs 4 weeks ago | 107.4 million barrels | 103.1 million barrels | +4.2% | | Year over year | 107.4 million barrels | 96.1 million barrels | +11.7% | | vs 5-yr median | 107.4 million barrels | 95.5 million barrels | +12.5% | ## 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 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 107.4 million barrels as of Aug 28, 2026, 13% above the 5-year median of 95.5 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? 95.5 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](/guides/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](/spot/mont-belvieu), 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. ## 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 period: Weekly ending stocks - Last observation: Aug 28, 2026 - Update frequency: Weekly --- Cite: US propane inventories: 107.4 million barrels, 12.5% above the 5-yr median (The Fill Line's same-week 5-year median, not EIA's published five-year average). The Fill Line, data through Aug 28, 2026. https://fill-line.com/stocks/us Canonical URL: https://fill-line.com/stocks/us