Domestic petroleum demand rose last week, but strong crude production and imports ended up driving U.S. inventory gains for a second straight week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.

EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report, released Wednesday, showed production climbed to 11.3 million b/d for the week ended Oct. 1, up from 11.1 million b/d the prior week. Oil imports, meanwhile, rose 39% week/week to 4.9 million b/d as the market addressed steadily increasing demand amid a growing economy and increased travel as the U.S. adapts to the coronavirus pandemic.

The result: U.S. oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, increased 2.3 million bbl in the latest covered period. A week earlier, stocks climbed 4.6 million bbl.

At 420.9 million...