Friday, December 20, 2013

U.S. Fuel Consumption Advanced in November, API Says

U.S. fuel consumption increased in November to the highest level for the month in six years as the economy grew, the American Petroleum Institute said.

Total deliveries of petroleum products, a measure of demand, rose 4.9 percent from a year earlier to 19.4 million barrels a day, the industry-funded group said today. It was the highest level for November since 2007.

Year-to-date use has averaged 18.7 million barrels a day, up 1.7 percent from 2012. “Last month’s increase in demand reflected gathering strength in the broader economy,” said John Felmy, chief economist at the API in Washington.

Demand for gasoline climbed 5.4 percent to 8.94 million barrels a day last month, the report showed. Consumption of jet fuel surged 7 percent from a year earlier to 1.48 million barrels a day in November.

Consumption of distillate fuel, the category that includes diesel and heating oil, gained. Diesel demand rose 5.2 percent to 3.71 million barrels a day in November while use of ultra low sulfur diesel climbed 6.5 percent to 3.7 million.

U.S. crude oil production increased 14 percent to 8.01 million barrels a day, the API said, exceeding 8 million for the first time in 25 years.

A combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has unlocked supplies in shale formations in North Dakota, Texas and other states.

Output of natural gas liquids, a byproduct of gas drilling, climbed 7.6 percent to a record 2.73 million barrels a day.

Total oil and fuel imports dropped 5.7 percent in November to 9.6 million barrels a day, a 17-year low for the month. Fuel exports climbed 6 percent to 3.61 million barrels a day, the highest November level ever.

bloomberg.com

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