The US is adapting. Oil per GDP dollar is steadily dropping. Imported oil per GDP dollar is dropping much faster due to steady increase in domestic production. Those that think the US is finished are in for a surprise.
U.S. Oil Demand Fell in July
By DAVID BIRD NEW YORK—U.S. oil demand in July fell by 4% from a year earlier to 18.555 million barrels a day and was the lowest level for the month since 1996, revised government data released Thursday show.
The drop came as gasoline demand fell 3.7% to 8.96 million barrels a day, the lowest level since 2000. July is often the peak month of the summer driving season, data from the federal Energy Information Administration show.
Revised total oil demand was 2.3% below the earlier estimate, with demand for gasoline, the most widely used petroleum product, 1.3% lower than preliminary data showed.
Total demand was 722,000 barrels a day, or 3.7%, below the June level, in the biggest month-to-month drop since September 2008, data from the EIA show. The year-on-year decline of 764,000 barrels a day, or 4%, was the largest since October 2009.
The latest figure is the fourth straight drop in year-on-year total oil demand after 14 consecutive year-on-year increases beginning in February 2010. Total demand was last lower than the revised July figure in May, at 18.363 million barrels a day.
The year-on-year drop in gasoline demand was the fifth straight. In the first four months of the spring-summer driving season, demand averaged 8.888 million barrels a day, down 3.6%, or 333,000 barrels a day, below a year ago. That's the biggest decline in the first four months of the driving season since 1980. Back then demand dropped 5% in the period as gasoline prices jumped 36% year to year, topping $1 a gallon for the first time, as the Iranian Revolution pushed crude-oil prices 58% higher to a then record $28 a barrel.
The EIA had projected that for the full April-September driving season, gasoline use would fall by 2.6% to 8.965 million barrels a day, the lowest level since 2001.
The retail price of regular gasoline averaged $3.65 a gallon in July, down three cents from June and the lowest monthly average since March. Prices were 33.7% above a year ago.
Demand for distillate fuel, including diesel and heating oil, was 2.6% below a year earlier, at 3.452 million barrels a day, and was 3.7% below the earlier estimate. That is the lowest level in any month since August 2009.
Within the distillate figure, demand for ultralow sulfur diesel fuel used by trucks was up 2.9% from a year earlier, at 3.298 million barrels a day. That is the lowest level since April, but the highest demand figure in July since 2008.
Retail diesel fuel prices averaged $3.905 a gallon in July, down 2.8 cents from June, and the lowest since March. The monthly average price was 34.1% above a year ago.
Revised jet fuel demand was 1.466 million barrels a day, down 1.9% from a year earlier and 3.9% below the earlier estimate. Jet fuel use was the lowest since May and the lowest in July since 1994.
Demand for heavy residual fuel fell to the lowest level on records beginning in 1936, averaging 316,000 barrels a day in July. That was down 47% from a year ago, and 25.8% below the earlier estimate. The fuel, used in industrial boilers, is facing increased competition from natural gas and a switch toward other cleaner-burning petroleum products.
online.wsj.com
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