American crude output held even at a level well below the 2022 peak – and far from pre-pandemic highs – as demand leveled off and recessionary headwinds gathered force both in the United States and globally, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday.

oil inventories graph

The government’s snapshot of domestic supply/demand came on the heels of an announcement from OPEC-plus that it plans to cut production in November by 2.0 million b/d.

The cartel has pointed to inflation-driven economic pressure in the United States and Europe as well as coronavirus-related limits on activity in China. Analysts suspected OPEC-plus sought to ease pressure on crude prices after a roughly 30% decline from a 2022 high reached in June.

Bill Farren-Price, director of Enverus Intelligence...