U.S. Petroleum Demand Fell by Near-Record Amounts in March due to COVID-19: EIA

Gasoline and jet fuel demand fell by near-record amounts because of the stay-at-home orders and travel limitation since the breakout of COVID-19, according to a June 9 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The gross inputs into refineries fell by 4 percent from February to March to an average of 15.8 million barrels per day, the lowest monthly level since October 2015.

Among other highlights:

• Gasoline demand fell by 13 percent to 7.8 million barrels per day from February to March, the lowest level since twenty years ago and the second-largest decline on record.
• Jet fuel demand declined by 15 percent in the same period of time, which marks the largest single monthly change in the administration’s record.
• Demand for distillate fuel in March remained stable compared with its January and February levels, falling only by 2 percent because of its lower elasticity of demand.
• Gulf Coast refinery runs, accounting for more than half of the nation’s refining capacity, remained stable between February and March because of its weaker connection with in-region consumption and returned operation after maintenance in February.
• However, operations of refineries in other parts of the country decreased in March as a result of lower demand for petroleum products; gross inputs into refineries on the west coast fell by 10 percent from February to March.
• Because of the lower demand for petroleum products but relatively stable crude oil production, U.S. crude oil inventories increased by 6 percent to 482 million barrels, which is the third-largest month-over-month increase in the administration’s record.
• The administration’s new tracking report on oil storage utilization since April shows that U.S. crude oil stocks reached 52 percent of working capacity by the end of March.