U.S. demand for petroleum products eased lower last week and lagged well behind year-ago levels, although commercial crude stockpiles declined by 600,000 bbl for the period amid an increase in exports, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday.

A gauge for domestic demand, EIA reported 19.088 million b/d of total products supplied during the most recent week, down from both 19.335 million b/d in the previous week and 21.351 million b/d in the year-ago period, the agency said in its latest Weekly Petroleum Status Report.

With the Covid-19 pandemic forcing many to rethink travel plans this holiday season, it’s perhaps no surprise that EIA reported sharp year/year declines in demand for both motor gasoline (down about 1.3 million b/d) and jet fuel (down 344,000...