U.S. Fuel Demand slips for February.
Press Release Summary:
According to API's Monthly Statistical Report, deliveries of all petroleum products in February slipped 1.3% from same month one year ago. Gasoline and jet fuel deliveries rose but increases were offset by declines in distillate fuel and residual fuel oil. Year-to-year demand increase for gasoline of 1.7% came despite retail gasoline selling at highest nominal February prices ever. Domestic crude oil production averaged 5.04 million barrels per day in February, down 3.8% from 1 year ago.
Original Press Release:
U.S. Fuel Demand Slips for February - API
WASHINGTON - Deliveries of all petroleum products in February - a measure of demand - slipped 1.3 percent from the same month one year ago, according to API's Monthly Statistical Report. Gasoline and jet fuel deliveries rose but the increases were offset by declines in distillate fuel and residual fuel oil. The year-to-year demand increase for gasoline of 1.7 percent came despite retail gasoline selling at the highest nominal February prices ever.
"Although demand for gasoline and jet fuel grew, higher prices and slowing economic growth continue to affect overall petroleum product demand in the U.S.," said Ron Planting, manager, information and analysis, for API. "Over the past few years, demand growth in petroleum fuels has slowed in contrast to what's been happening in many other parts of the world, including Asia. More recently, U.S. demand has flattened or even declined slightly. For the year, product deliveries are down 0.6 percent compared with 2007."
Despite the cooling of demand, the nation continues to consume nearly 21 million barrels of oil a day, and refineries are working hard to get fuel to consumers, producing more gasoline and distillate fuel than in any preceding February. However, total product imports were down 4.5 percent from a year earlier to just under 3 million barrels per day.
"In many parts of the nation, February was significantly warmer than a year ago, which may have bolstered gasoline demand," Planting said. "Even so, February gasoline deliveries were the lowest monthly average for the past 10 months."
Domestic crude oil production averaged 5.04 million barrels per day in February, down 3.8 percent from a year ago, and the lowest level since September 2006. Crude oil imports, though down from January, were 5.5 percent higher than February 2007.
In February, crude oil inventories rose by 3 million barrels from the prior month, putting them slightly above the five-year average. Gasoline inventories of 222.5 million barrels fell slightly from January but remained 3.5 percent above both last February's level and the five-year average level for that month
Bill Bush | 202.682.8069 | bushw@api.org
