“The growth in overall demand is consistent with the nation’s modest but steady economic expansion,” API chief economist John Felmy said in a statement.
“Gasoline demand essentially treaded water while demand for ultra-low-sulfur diesel continued its year-over-year increase.”
API’s demand figure for June is much higher than the US Energy Information Administration’s preliminary estimate of fuel consumption at 19.004 million bpd for the month. The EIA issues its revised June demand number at the end of August.
There was little change in June gasoline demand from a year earlier, rising just 1,000 bpd to 9.285 million bpd, API said.
“Gasoline demand appears to still be held back by high unemployment and consumer uncertainty,” Felmy said.
The June increase in gasoline demand, thanks to falling pump prices during the month, reversed year-on-year declines in motor fuel consumption seen during April and May.
Demand for distillates, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, jumped 7.2 percent to 4.030 million bpd.
“The robust ultra-low-sulfur diesel demand numbers suggest US
manufacturing is picking up the pace,” Felmy said.
Jet fuel demand in June inched up 1.2 percent to 1.525 million bpd as air travel recovered modestly, while residual fuel use fell 9.8 percent to 455,000 bpd as industrial users switched to cheaper natural gas.
On the supply side, US monthly crude oil production fell to a two-year low, declining 2 percent to 5.358 million bpd.
Crude oil and petroleum product imports averaged 11.108 million bpd, down 10 percent from a year earlier.
“With the exception of 2009, crude oil imports were at their lowest
levels since 2002 for June,” API said.
Total imports in June accounted for 56.5 percent of US oil demand, down from 64 percent a year earlier.
