October 2026 U.S. Crude-Oil Inventory Calendar: API vs. EIA Release Times and Holiday Delays

U.S. crude-oil inventory data normally arrives in a familiar Tuesday-Wednesday sequence: the American Petroleum Institute's Weekly Statistical Bulletin (WSB) is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, followed by the U.S. Energy Information Administration's Weekly Petroleum Status Report (WPSR) on Wednesday morning. October 2026 has one important exception. Because Monday, October 12 is a federal holiday, both releases shift later that week, and the EIA release time changes as well.

The practical point is simple: do not build an October trading calendar by repeating “API Tuesday, EIA Wednesday” across every week. The holiday week breaks that pattern. The dates below are based on the official API WSB release information, API's 2026 Schedule of Releases, and the EIA's Weekly Petroleum Status Report schedule.

What are the October 2026 API and EIA crude-oil inventory release dates?

For releases that occur during October 2026, the verified calendar is:

The week ending October 30 falls outside the October publication window. API's 2026 schedule lists its report for Tuesday, November 3. Under the EIA's standard Wednesday schedule, the corresponding WPSR is due Wednesday, November 4 at 10:30 a.m. ET unless the agency posts a later change.

Why is the October 14-15 sequence different?

Monday, October 12, 2026 is Columbus Day on the federal holiday calendar published by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. The date can be confirmed on the official OPM federal holidays page.

API states that its weekly reports are normally scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at approximately 4:30 p.m. Eastern, but when Monday is a federal holiday the report is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. Its 2026 PDF specifically lists Wednesday, October 14 for the week ending October 9.

The EIA holiday schedule is more specific. For data covering the week ending October 9, it lists Thursday, October 15 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern. That is not merely a one-day date shift from the usual Wednesday release; the scheduled headline release also moves from the standard 10:30 a.m. time to noon.

Is the API report always at exactly 4:30 p.m. ET?

No. API describes the regular publication time as approximately 4:30 p.m. Eastern. That wording matters if you are timing alerts or expecting a data feed to update at an exact second. The official schedule establishes the planned day, while API's WSB page provides the approximate release time.

API also notes that publication dates are subject to change. For a live trading workflow, the safer practice is to treat 4:30 p.m. ET as the scheduled window and verify the API page or your authorized WSB distributor before the event rather than assuming a hard timestamp.

When does the EIA WPSR actually become available?

The EIA says the WPSR summary, overview, and Tables 1-14 in CSV and XLS formats are released to its website after 10:30 a.m. Eastern on normal Wednesdays. Other PDF and HTML files are released later. For traders watching the widely cited weekly inventory numbers, the 10:30 a.m. release window is the one that usually matters.

During the October holiday week, however, the EIA's official exception table sets the release for Thursday, October 15 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern. The most direct place to verify the live publication is the agency's Weekly Petroleum Status Report page.

API versus EIA: are the numbers supposed to match?

No. The two reports cover similar weekly petroleum information, but they are separate estimates. API explains that both API and EIA weekly surveys cover most of the industry rather than every participant, and that differences in sample coverage and estimation methods can produce different weekly figures.

That means an API crude-stock change should not be treated as a guaranteed preview of the next EIA number. It is useful as an earlier estimate, but the EIA release is a separate government statistical product. A sensible reading of the sequence is “two independent weekly estimates arriving at different times,” not “preliminary number followed by the same number again.”

Which report should you put on a trading calendar?

If your goal is to avoid being surprised by scheduled petroleum data, put both on the calendar. They serve different timing needs:

• API WSB: normally Tuesday at about 4:30 p.m. ET; in the October 12 holiday week, Wednesday, October 14 at about 4:30 p.m. ET.
• EIA WPSR: normally Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. ET; in the holiday week, Thursday, October 15 at 12:00 p.m. ET.
• Week-ending dates: the report published during a given week generally describes the prior Friday's reporting period, which is why the table pairs October 6-7 with the week ending October 2.

The distinction is especially important for automated alerts. A recurring reminder set only for Tuesdays and Wednesdays would miss the holiday-adjusted EIA release entirely and would fire a day too early for API that week.

What should you verify before placing a trade around an inventory release?

First, verify the date on the publisher's own schedule rather than relying on a copied economic calendar. API's 2026 release PDF was updated October 29, 2025 and explicitly warns that dates are subject to change. EIA maintains a dedicated holiday schedule with alternate dates and times.

Second, make sure your platform is displaying the same time zone you are using. The official source pages state release times in Eastern time. Broker terminals, charting tools, and economic calendars may convert those times into your local zone automatically.

Third, distinguish the scheduled release from the data period. “October 15 EIA report” and “week ending October 9” refer to different dates in the same release cycle. Mixing them up can make a historical comparison look one week off.

Finally, recheck the official page on the day of the release if timing is critical. Scheduled calendars are useful planning tools, but unscheduled operational delays can occur. The strongest confirmation is a current notice from API or EIA, not a calendar entry saved weeks earlier.

What is the key October 2026 takeaway?

There are four API/EIA release pairs published during October. Three follow the normal Tuesday-at-about-4:30-p.m. ET and Wednesday-at-10:30-a.m. ET rhythm. The exception is the week after the October 12 federal holiday: API shifts to Wednesday, October 14 at about 4:30 p.m. ET, and EIA shifts to Thursday, October 15 at 12:00 p.m. ET.

If you remember only one thing, make it this: holiday weeks can change both the day and, for EIA, the release time. Verify the publisher's current schedule before relying on a recurring calendar rule.