Bitcoin could react to new 40M barrel US oil sale before a single barrel is delivered

The US Department of Energy has opened an exchange for up to 40 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Its September 29 solicitation adds a possible source of oil later this year, but no barrels have been awarded under this offer. Proposals are due October 6 at 11 a.m. Central, with deliveries under awarded exchanges scheduled for November and December.

The offer falls within the previously announced 172-million-barrel US release commitment. That figure describes the existing program, not another 172 million barrels announced this week. The 40-million-barrel ceiling is the volume offered in this round, rather than oil already moving into the market.

The date gap matters as investors await the next inflation reading. The Bureau of Economic Analysis has scheduled its August personal income and outlays report for September 30 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. It includes the personal consumption expenditures, or PCE, price index. Because the data cover August, they cannot reflect the September 29 reserve offer or late-September oil moves. Under DOE's announced timetable, the newly offered oil cannot reach buyers before the report either.

How the oil offer could affect Bitcoin