U.S. gasoline production hits record

American Petroleum Institute reports that U.S. gasoline production was a record 8.23 million b/d in July, a 3.5% increase from July 1997.

The previous record was 8.19 million b/d in June 1997. API also said inputs to U.S. refineries last July were 15.73 million b/d, matching a record set in 1978, when total U.S. refined product consumption also was a record, at 18.85 million b/d.

But API said July deliveries of petroleum products, a key indicator of demand, dropped 1.6% from a year ago to 18.8 million b/d. It put July gasoline deliveries at 8.41 million b/d, a 1% drop from July 1997 and an example of the "increasingly puzzling" weakness in gasoline deliveries in the past few months.

U.S. inventories of crude and products continued to rise at 1.12 billion bbl, the highest level since 1983 and a 13% increase compared with July last year. Crude oil stocks increased 11% from a year ago to 343.7 million bbl despite July's refinery average utilization rate of 99.6%. Gasoline stocks were 218.9 million bbl, 15.2% higher than a year ago but down 0.1% from June.

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