U.S. PETROLEUM DEMAND UP BY 750 TBD

API - American Petroleum Institute reported that the first four months of this year saw U.S. petroleum demand average 750 thousand barrels a day above the same period in 2017 despite higher prices, a sign of solid economic activity. April also saw the U.S. produce a record 10.5 million barrels per day (MBD) of oil.

"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 U.S. production," said API Chief Economist Dean Foreman. "The strong supply figure was also backed by strong petroleum demand of over 20.3 MBD last month, motor gasoline demand for first four months of 2018 was the second highest on record. Economic fundamentals continue to propel petroleum markets at home and abroad."

Consumer gasoline demand, as measured by total motor gasoline deliveries, of 9.3 MBD in April was up by 1.3 percent from March and 1.1 percent versus April 2017. The first four months of the year achieved the second highest year-to-date demand (9.1 MBD) on record.

Strong global demand raised international oil prices by more than domestic ones. Domestic WTI crude oil prices averaged $66.25 per barrel in April, up by 5.6 percent from March and 29.7 percent versus April 2017. Meanwhile, international Brent crude oil prices continued to increase by more – 8.5 percent m/m in April to $71.63 per barrel, which reinforces global economic and oil demand strength.

WTI crude oil traded as an average discount of $5.38 per barrel below Brent in April, which was the second consecutive monthly increase in the price differential and returned it to the same level as in January. As U.S. production has expanded rapidly, infrastructure constraints continued to suppress WTI prices. By comparison, Light Louisiana Sweet crude oil had weaker constraints and traded at a discount to Brent of $2.23 per barrel in April.

April highlights:

• U.S. petroleum sustained its highest levels in 11 years.
• Distillate fuel rose un-seasonally to 4.2 MBD.
• Jet fuel demand achieved its strongest April on record.
• Strong global demand raised international oil prices by more than domestic ones.
• The U.S. petroleum trade balance shrank by 380 KBD for the month of April.
• U.S. petroleum exports set new record above 7.0 MBD in April.

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Earlier:

2018, May, 18, 08:40:00 U.S. INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION UP 0.7% FRB - Industrial production rose 0.7 percent in April for its third consecutive monthly increase. The rates of change for industrial production for previous months were revised downward, on net; for the first quarter, output is now reported to have advanced 2.3 percent at an annual rate.

2018, May, 16, 11:55:00 U.S. OIL PRODUCTION + 144 TBD, GAS PRODUCTION + 1,092 MCFD EIA - Crude oil production from the major US onshore regions is forecast to increase 144,000 b/d month-over-month in June from 7,034 to 7,178 thousand barrels/day , gas production to increase 1,092 million cubic feet/day from 67,027 to 68,119 million cubic feet/day .

2018, April, 23, 14:40:00 U.S. OIL DEMAND UP TO 20.6 MBD API - the American Petroleum Institute reported that U.S. petroleum demand reached 20.6 million barrels per day (MBD) last month, the highest level since 2007. To satisfy demand, domestic refineries utilized 91.5 percent of their capacity – a record for the month of March – and processed 17 MBD of oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The U.S. also produced a record 10.4 MBD of crude oil plus another 3.9 MBD of NGLs.

2018, April, 23, 14:25:00 U.S. SHALE OIL UP FT - US shale oil companies have started to generate free cash thanks to the rise in crude prices, a landmark moment for an industry that has until now relied on an inflow of capital to support its growth.

2018, April, 20, 09:25:00 U.S. PETROLEUM DRILLING UP 35% API - natural gas and oil drilling and completions rose more than 35 percent over 2017 levels signaling the strength of the U.S. natural gas and oil industry. In addition, the success rate for exploration of natural gas and oil was more than 60 percent, the highest rate since 2009.

2018, April, 18, 13:07:00 U.S. OIL PRODUCTION +125 TBD, GAS +1,078 MCFD EIA - Crude oil production from the major US onshore regions is forecast to increase 125,000 b/d month-over-month in May from 6,871 to 6,996 thousand barrels/day , gas production to increase 1,078 million cubic feet/day from 65,829 to 66,907 million cubic feet/day .

2018, April, 2, 09:35:00 U.S. OIL PRODUCTION UP 1.14 MBD EIA - US oil production averaged 9.964 million b/d in January, up nearly 1.14 million b/d compared with January 2017, but about 102,000 b/d below November's record domestic output,