Commodities

EIA

Energy Information Administration

Comprehensive energy data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, providing authoritative statistics on energy production, consumption, imports, exports, and prices across all major energy sources.

Update Frequency

Daily

Historical Coverage

Full History

Point in Time

Available

Overview & Use Cases

Best Used For

•Commodities and energy trading strategies
•Energy market fundamental analysis
•Supply and demand forecasting
•Seasonal pattern analysis

Common Workflows

•Weekly inventory analysis for trading signals
•Cross-commodity correlation studies
•Regional price differential analysis
•Energy transition impact assessment

Coverage Details

Natural Gas

Storage, production, consumption, and pricing data

Electricity

Generation, capacity, and consumption by source

Coal

Production, consumption, and transportation data

Petroleum

Crude oil, refined products, and inventory levels

Data Dictionary & Schema

Field	Type	Unit	Description	Sample
report_date	DATE	N/A	Date of the report publication	2024-01-15
natural_gas_storage_total	DECIMAL	Billion Cubic Feet (Bcf)	Total natural gas in underground storage	2847.50
natural_gas_storage_change	DECIMAL	Billion Cubic Feet (Bcf)	Weekly change in natural gas storage	-125.30
crude_oil_inventory	DECIMAL	Million Barrels	Commercial crude oil inventories excluding SPR	448.90
gasoline_inventory	DECIMAL	Million Barrels	Finished motor gasoline inventories	234.70
electricity_generation_coal	DECIMAL	Thousand Megawatthours	Electricity generation from coal sources	45678.90
electricity_generation_natural_gas	DECIMAL	Thousand Megawatthours	Electricity generation from natural gas sources	67890.12
coal_production	DECIMAL	Thousand Short Tons	Weekly coal production	12345.67
region_code	STRING	N/A	Geographic region identifier	P1A
data_quality_flag	STRING	N/A	Data quality indicator	A

Data Quality & Methodology

Data Collection Process

EIA collects data through mandatory surveys from energy companies, utilities, and other industry participants. Data is collected via electronic forms with built-in validation rules and cross-checks.

•Weekly petroleum status reports from refineries and terminals
•Monthly electric power surveys from utilities
•Natural gas storage reports from underground storage operators

Quality Controls

•Automated validation checks for data consistency and reasonableness
•Historical trend analysis to identify outliers
•Cross-validation with related data series
•Manual review by subject matter experts

Known Limitations

•Small companies may be exempt from reporting requirements
•Some data points are estimated when actual data is unavailable
•Revisions are common as more complete data becomes available
•Weather-related disruptions can affect data collection timing

"Gotchas" & Important Notes

Common Misconceptions

⚠
Storage vs. Production: Natural gas storage data reflects inventory levels, not production rates. High storage doesn't necessarily mean high production.
⚠
Crude Oil vs. Petroleum Products: Crude oil inventories don't include refined products like gasoline or diesel, which are reported separately.

Timing Considerations

⏰
Release Schedule: Weekly petroleum data is typically released on Wednesdays at 10:30 AM ET, covering the week ending the previous Friday.
⏰
Natural Gas Storage: Released on Thursdays at 10:30 AM ET, covering the week ending the previous Friday.
⏰
Holiday Delays: Release schedules may be delayed during federal holidays.

Point-in-Time vs. As-Reported

EIA data includes both point-in-time snapshots and as-reported historical series:

•Point-in-Time: Data as it appeared on the original release date, preserving historical market context
•As-Reported: Current version with all subsequent revisions incorporated
•Revision Impact: Some series can have significant revisions, particularly monthly electricity generation data

Units & Adjustments

•Seasonal Adjustments: Some series are seasonally adjusted, others are not - check the series metadata
•Unit Consistency: Natural gas volumes may be reported in different units (Bcf, MMcf, therms) depending on the context
•Regional Variations: PADD region data may not sum exactly to national totals due to rounding and timing differences

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