Oil output in the United States declined for a second consecutive week, dashing hopes that production would keep pace with summer demand and ease pressure on inventories and prices.

After climbing to a 2022 high of 12.1 million b/d in June, U.S. output fell to 11.9 million b/d for the period ended July 15. That marked the second straight weekly drop of 100,000 b/d, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday.

U.S. production is more than 1 million b/d below the pre-coronavirus peak, while overall petroleum demand is rising alongside summer travel, according to EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report.

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Demand jumped 12% week/week...