Topic
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve is the US government's emergency crude-oil stockpile, tapped to offset supply disruptions or price spikes.
Brent crude was $108.51 a barrel at 7:45 a.m. Eastern on 16 October, up $1.84 in a day and about $47 above a year ago, Fortune reported. Its price page adds that pump prices often lag crude on the way down, so relief reaches fuel bills late.
Reality
Brent crude traded at $106.67 a barrel on October 15, about $44 above its price a year earlier, Fortune reported. That is roughly 70% higher. The page measures price only; margins and spending are left out.
Reality
Brent crude traded at $108.70 a barrel at 7:15 a.m. Eastern on October 14, roughly $46 above the same morning last year, according to Fortune. Against an implied $62.70 a year ago that is a rise of about 73%, a gap any fuel budget set on last year's costs has to fund.
Reality
Brent fell $2.56 to $100.19 a barrel on Sept. 29, still $32.86 above a year earlier, according to Fortune. Anyone buying fuel is still paying about 49% more per barrel than last autumn, and the day's drop narrows that gap only slightly.
Reality
Brent crude sold for $104.46 a barrel on Sept. 28, up $37.13 over the past year, according to Fortune. Fuel budgets built on last year's barrel need resetting, even though the data confirms only two sessions above $100.
Reality
Caracas puts the bill above $100 billion for reserves the White House says more than double America's, a stock claim with no schedule attached while the only new barrels come from Chevron tuning old wells.
Perspective Coverage
5 publishersReality
Crude in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is down to roughly 293 million barrels, and federal law halts routine drawdowns at 252.4 million. The gap between them is the whole tool.
Reality
The reserve fell below 300 million barrels for the first time since the 1980s, and the argument is no longer about willingness to release oil. It is about salt.
Reality
US emergency crude stocks are at their lowest since 1983, according to NPR. Prediction markets moved the odds of a record crude price by December 31 from 10% to 12.5%.
Reality