Bill Bush | 202.682.8114 | bushw@api.org

WASHINGTON, May 20, 2011 – A strong increase in distillate fuel demand this April over a year ago drove an overall rise in petroleum product demand.  Distillate demand was up 15.2 percent while overall petroleum product demand was up 5.2 percent.  As gasoline prices rose 24 cents a gallon from March, gasoline demand faltered, falling 2.2 percent compared with April 2010 and declining for the first time in three months.         

"Growth in product demand was mixed as the U.S. economy struggled to gain momentum," said API chief economist John Felmy.  "Gasoline demand was still up for the year to date over a year ago, but recent higher gasoline and food prices appear to have encouraged consumers to cut back in their driving.  In contrast, deliveries of ultra-low sulfur distillate, the fuel used in commercial trucking, surged, suggesting continuing forward motion in the economy."    

Although gasoline production at U.S. refineries fell in April for the first time this year, volumes were still the second highest for any April over the past ten years.  On a year-to-date basis, gasoline production, like distillate production, remained at a record high.     

Crude oil production in April fell 0.5 percent to 5.5 million barrels a day, reversing small production volume gains in March over the year before.  The decline was led by a 0.6 percent drop in the lower 48 states.  Year-to-date crude oil production was still up slightly by 0.5 percent.   

Total imports of crude oil and petroleum products were down by 9.9 percent in April compared with last year, a trend seen through all four months of 2011.  The U.S. continued to be a net exporter of refined products.

Inventories of crude oil, at 365.1 million barrels, were 2.7 percent higher than in March and 1.2 percent higher than in April 2010.  Gasoline stocks at 210.8 million barrels were lower than in March and lower than in April 2010, by 4.5 percent and 4.0 percent respectively.

API represents more than 470 oil and natural gas companies, leaders of a technology-driven industry that supplies most of America’s energy, supports 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.7 percent of the U.S. economy, delivers more than $85 million a day in revenue to our government, and, since 2000, has invested over $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.