More than 5 Bcf/d of natural gas demand from the industrial sector has been lost since the start of the year, brought down by the heavy economic toll of Covid-19, the Department of Energy said.

industrial production index

Domestic natural gas demand from the industrial sector measured 20.1 Bcf/d in June, down nearly 1.0 Bcf/d compared to year-ago levels and down from 25.4 Bcf/d in January, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a research note published Monday.

Monthly measurements of industrial sector demand began showing year/year declines in March 2020, coinciding with the start of Covid-19 containment measures that disrupted economic activity. By May, industrial sector natural gas demand declined 8% compared to 2019 levels, EIA said.

For context, May 2020 marked the largest...