India, Sept. 15 -- The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) has fallen to its lowest level in nearly 44 years. The reserve held 285.4 million barrels of crude oil in the week ending September 4, the lowest level since November 1982, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The reserve lost another 1.2 million barrels in just one week. SPR stocks fell from 286.6 million barrels in the previous week to 285.4 million barrels by September 4. The drop is much bigger when compared with last year. The reserve held 405.2 million barrels a year earlier. That means the US has lost almost 120 million barrels, or around 30% of its stock, in just 12 months, according to the EIA data.

The fall is linked to a major US dec...