US oil demand fell in November on lower gasoline consumption - API
Total US petroleum deliveries (a measure of demand) fell 1.1% in November compared with November a year ago, pulled down by a 1.8% decline in motor gasoline demand to an 11-year low for the month, according to a monthly report from the American Petroleum Institute (API).
Deliveries of distillate fuel and jet fuel were strong, with distillates up 4.3% and jet fuel up 7.5%.
For the first 11 months of 2011, total petroleum deliveries were down 0.7% from the same period in 2010.
"Flagging gasoline demand suggests the consumer sector of the economy is still treading water," said API chief economist John Felmy.
"But the distillate numbers show the industrial sector is faring better. While the latest Federal Reserve data report a decline in manufacturing activity from last year, they show healthy growth in the mining and utilities sectors."
US refinery gasoline and distillate production were at a record highs – up 2.1% and 6.8%, respectively – for any November and on a year-to-date basis. Jet fuel production increased by 1.8%, while residual fuel production slumped 11.7% in November.
Refinery inputs recovered from the year-over-year declines in September and October. Total inputs were up 1.6% compared with November 2010.
Total petroleum imports were down for the month of November from last year by 2.7%, at 10.8 million bpd.
Crude imports in November jumped by 4.7% to 9.1 million bpd, while product imports fell by 29.5% to 1.7 million bpd.
Exports of petroleum products jumped 35.4% against November of last year to reach 3.5 million bpd.
Crude oil production declined in November by 2.1% to 5.4 million bpd, although it was still at the second highest November level over the past eight years. On a year-to-date basis, production was up by 2.8%.
The total number of oil and gas rigs remained above 2,000 in November for the second month in a row but at 2,011 were slightly below November a year ago, according to the latest Baker-Hughes report.
Compared with November 2010, crude oil and refined product inventories declined this November.
Crude oil stocks at the end of month were at 334.9 million bbl, down 5% from last November and down 1.5% from October 2011.
Gasoline inventories were up 3.2% from October and up 0.8% from November a year ago.
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