EIA Crude Oil Stocks Change comes in at -3.06M against -4.804M consensus

The EIA Crude Oil Stocks Change for the week ending October 21, 2026, was reported at -3.06 million barrels. This figure came in above the consensus expectation of -4.804 million barrels, representing a surprise of 36.3%. The previous week’s reading was -8.557 million barrels.

Following the release, market reactions were generally subdued across major currency pairs after 15 minutes. AUDUSD moved +0.4 pips, EURUSD +0.3 pips, GBPUSD -1.2 pips, and NZDUSD -0.3 pips. USDCAD saw a move of -3.9 pips, USDCHF +0.4 pips, and USDJPY +5.1 pips. Gold, XAUUSD, moved -30 pips. For most pairs, these initial moves are smaller than their typical median 1-hour moves. For example, AUDUSD’s +0.4 pips is less than its median 1-hour move of 7 pips, and EURUSD’s +0.3 pips is less than its median 8 pips. USDCAD’s -3.9 pips is less than its median 10 pips. XAUUSD’s -30 pips is larger than its median 1-hour move of 23 pips.