US Petroleum Demand High

The American Petroleum Institute reported that the first four months of this year saw US petroleum demand average 750,000 barrels a day above the same period in 2017 despite higher prices, a sign of solid economic activity. April also saw the US produce a record 10.5 million barrels per day of oil, Hellenic Shipping reported. "Iranian oil supply uncertainty has recently dominated global oil market news, but a key figure from the United States should trump that concern: two million barrels per day of US production," said API Chief Economist Dean Foreman. "The strong supply figure was also backed by strong petroleum demand of over 20.3 mbpd last month. Motor gasoline demand for the first four months of 2018 was the second highest on record." Consumer gasoline demand, as measured by total motor gasoline deliveries, of 9.3 mbpd in April was up by 1.3% from March and 1.1% versus April 2017. The first four months of the year achieved the second highest year-to-date demand (9.1 mbpd) on record.