Demand for petroleum products dropped last week amid lofty prices while U.S. producers held output at the highest level so far in 2022, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday.

us petroleum demand

U.S. production for the week ended April 8 held even with the prior week at 11.8 million b/d — after hovering around 11.6 million b/d through most of February and March.

Output, however, remains more than 1 million b/d below pre-pandemic highs and may struggle to climb in the near term, given mounting demand uncertainty caused by geopolitical strife and a resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic.

[Want to know how global LNG demand impacts North American fundamentals? To find out, subscribe to NGI’s Daily Gas Price Index]

Total U.S. petroleum demand for the latest EIA period...