MARKET NEWS

(Bloomberg) -- The tankers have been arriving from all over the world in unprecedented numbers. After loading up in Alaska and along the US Gulf Coast, they head back out to sea — to Japan, Thailand and even as far as Australia.

All told, over the past nine weeks, more than 250 million barrels of crude from oil wells and storage tanks across the US have been shipped overseas. That’s made the country, once again, the No. 1 exporter of crude, overtaking Saudi Arabia, and turned it into a lifeline for global consumers as the near closure of the Strait of Hormuz throttles Middle Eastern supplies.

But record American exports also come with warnings that this supply cushion is rapidly being pushed to its limits. Many energy experts are questioning how long shipments can be sustained at such levels. US domestic inventories are quickly depleting, with total oil and fuel stockpiles drawing down for four straight weeks to below historical averages. Meanwhile, America’s oil producers are struggling to keep up.

“Ships are coming to take our oil, but once significant volumes of oil are leaving the United States, it can be expected that balances will tighten,” said Clayton Seigle, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “We are digging ourselves a hole in terms of spending down inventories.”

It’s a problem with global consequences. Even with a steady stream of US exports in recent weeks, it hasn’t been enough to eclipse the supply shortages sparked by the choking off of the strait. Brent crude, the key benchmark, has jumped roughly 50% since the war broke out and just last week topped $126 a barrel, the highest since 2022. If America’s crude shipments are now nearing their maximum, the competition for barrels will grow even stiffer.

Within the US, energy inflation is already projected to factor heavily into November’s midterm elections. Retail gasoline prices are soaring, and some voters are sure to question why so much oil is being shipped out to international markets. US President Donald Trump has been boasting about the surging exports. “This has been amazing,” he said Friday. “The amount of oil and gas that we’re selling now is at a level that nobody’s ever seen.”