US Crude Oil Imports Data For April, 2016 -- July 2, 2016

April figures released. Unremarkable. US crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia down a bit from last month; up a bit from previous month, not all that different from all the other "Aprils" since 1995 (that's as far back as I looked).

I still find it amazing that it takes more than two months to get data that should be available in real-time. Lots of time for insiders to study, act. Whatever.

So, what about the rest of the world? Not particularly noteworthy. Same ol', same ol'.

Other side of the ledger, US crude oil exports. Again, the data is old. April data just now being released, and, again, not particularly noteworthy. Same ol', same ol'.

Weekly US days of supply of crude oil. Did we just hit a record? Almost.

• back in week 4, February, 1983, the previous record: 34.2 days
• now, week 5, April, 2016: 34.0 days 

A 30-second sound bite, elevator speech: "US days of crude oil supply is generally about 24 days; records are set when it gets below 20 days, and records are set when the supply stretches out past 28 days. Very, very rarely does one see the 30-day threshold -- but that 30-days became pretty much the norm starting in late 2015. This does not include the SPR."

As of 6/24/16: 31.9 days. A year ago: 28.2 days.

Flashback: February 28, 1983: The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, setting a record for most watched television episode and reaching a total audience estimated at 125 million.