WASHINGTON - U.S. demand for crude oil and petroleum products fell modestly in November compared to a year ago, suggesting the sluggish economy may be picking up some steam, the American Petroleum Institute said on Wednesday.
November's total petroleum product deliveries, excluding exports, averaged 18.857 million barrels per day, down 1 percent from a year ago, the report said.
Deliveries of distillate fuel oil -- which includes heating oil and diesel fuel -- fell 4.6 percent to 3.693 million bpd, the smallest decline since January.
"Distillate and jet fuel delivery declines were much more moderate than previous months, which could be an indication of continued economic recovery," said API's Statistics Manager John Felmy in a statement.
Jet fuel demand in November fell 3.1 percent to 1.395 million bpd, as residual fuel use increased 1.4 percent to 528,000 bpd.
Deliveries, which are a good indicator of demand, are calculated by the API to reflect petroleum products moved from refineries and bulk storage to wholesale and retail suppliers.
API's U.S. crude demand estimate for November is somewhat more bullish than the Energy Information Administration's preliminary estimate of 18.484 million bpd for the month.
The EIA is the independent statistical arm of the U.S. Energy Department.
API said November gasoline demand rose 1.5 percent to 9.035 million bpd. This marks the fifth year-on-year increase in gasoline consumption in six months. EIA forecast slightly lower gasoline demand of 8.987 million bpd for the month.
"While the recent series of increases for gasoline has reversed the prior decline, recent deliveries levels still fell below historical levels," the API report said.
November gasoline demand was still more than 2 percent below consumption levels reached two years ago and the second lowest for the month since 2003.
On the supply side, U.S. crude oil production climbed 7.7 percent to 5.409 million bpd.
Crude oil inventories at the end the November stood at 334 million barrels, up 3.9 percent from a year ago. Distillate stocks were at about 169 million barrels, the API said.
Crude oil and petroleum product imports averaged 11.173 million bpd, down 13.3 percent from a year ago.
Total imports in November accounted for 59.3 percent of U.S. oil demand, down from 67.6 percent a year earlier.
November's total petroleum product deliveries, excluding exports, averaged 18.857 million barrels per day, down 1 percent from a year ago, the report said.
Deliveries of distillate fuel oil -- which includes heating oil and diesel fuel -- fell 4.6 percent to 3.693 million bpd, the smallest decline since January.
"Distillate and jet fuel delivery declines were much more moderate than previous months, which could be an indication of continued economic recovery," said API's Statistics Manager John Felmy in a statement.
Jet fuel demand in November fell 3.1 percent to 1.395 million bpd, as residual fuel use increased 1.4 percent to 528,000 bpd.
Deliveries, which are a good indicator of demand, are calculated by the API to reflect petroleum products moved from refineries and bulk storage to wholesale and retail suppliers.
API's U.S. crude demand estimate for November is somewhat more bullish than the Energy Information Administration's preliminary estimate of 18.484 million bpd for the month.
The EIA is the independent statistical arm of the U.S. Energy Department.
API said November gasoline demand rose 1.5 percent to 9.035 million bpd. This marks the fifth year-on-year increase in gasoline consumption in six months. EIA forecast slightly lower gasoline demand of 8.987 million bpd for the month.
"While the recent series of increases for gasoline has reversed the prior decline, recent deliveries levels still fell below historical levels," the API report said.
November gasoline demand was still more than 2 percent below consumption levels reached two years ago and the second lowest for the month since 2003.
On the supply side, U.S. crude oil production climbed 7.7 percent to 5.409 million bpd.
Crude oil inventories at the end the November stood at 334 million barrels, up 3.9 percent from a year ago. Distillate stocks were at about 169 million barrels, the API said.
Crude oil and petroleum product imports averaged 11.173 million bpd, down 13.3 percent from a year ago.
Total imports in November accounted for 59.3 percent of U.S. oil demand, down from 67.6 percent a year earlier.
