Demand for U.S. petroleum products climbed while production only inched ahead last week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. The result: A large drop in domestic oil inventories that left stocks well below historic averages.

To be sure, fallout from Hurricane Ida and ongoing impacts of the coronavirus Delta variant add wrinkles for the weeks ahead. Production increase plans by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could also alter the landscape. But through August, strong domestic demand for products derived from crude and its impact on supplies punctuated the U.S. oil narrative.

Demand has escalated through the summer months amid coronavirus vaccine rollouts and as Americans adapt to the pandemic despite the Delta mutation. Overall petroleum...