April oil demand in the United States, as measured by deliveries of all petroleum products, rose a modest 0.2 percent over year-ago levels, the first time this year monthly demand averaged higher than the corresponding month in 2007, according to the American Petroleum Institute (API).
But, year-to-date oil demand continues to lag behind 2007 levels. The statistics are part of the API’s Monthly Statistical Report.
“We have still seen declines for the year-to-date across all major products,“ said Ron Planting, manager, information and analysis, for API. “This is one of the reasons petroleum imports have been running nearly four percent lower than a year ago.”
Oil deliveries in the United States from January until April 2008 averaged 20.2 million barrels per day, 2.4 percent below the first four months of 2007. Despite rising prices, gasoline, distillate and residual fuel oil deliveries registered modest year-on-year increases in April while jet fuel demand posted another year-to-year decline.
Gasoline and distillate production continued its record-breaking pace in April as gasoline output averaged 8.9 million barrels per day, up nearly one percent from April 2007.
Production of distillate, mostly heating oil and diesel fuel, averaged 4.2 million barrels daily, or 1.7 percent above year-ago levels. Refinery crude oil inputs averaged 15.15 million barrels per day in April, up from March levels of 14.87 million barrels per day.
Refiners in the United States used 86.7 percent of their operable capacity in April, down from year-ago levels of 88.2 percent. Meanwhile, the United States imported 13.18 million barrels per day of crude oil and refined products in April, down more than five percent from April 2007.
Total crude imports averaged 9.81 million barrels a day and refined products imports averaged 3.37 million barrels per day.
Domestic crude oil production averaged 5.07 million barrels per day in April, down 1.7 percent from a year ago. It was the fifth monthly year-to-year decline in a row. Year-to-date production is running some 2.9 percent below the same period a year-ago.
In April, crude oil inventories rose more than seven million barrels from end-March levels, putting them one percent below the five-year historical average.
Gasoline inventories fell from end-March levels to 212 million barrels but remained 7.5 percent higher than year-ago levels and 6 million barrels above their recent five-year average.
Distillate inventories ended April three million barrels below end-March levels but 1.5 percent above the five-year average.