US oil demand rose to the highest seasonal level since 2019 in July, EIA data show By Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. oil demand rose in July to the highest seasonal level since 2019, while production fell for the second time in three months, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed on Monday.

US oil demand has been more resilient this year compared to other major consumers such as China, which have lagged under economic pressures.

Total oil consumption rose 1.2% from June to 20.48 million barrels per day in July, the highest for the month since 2019. Demand for both gasoline and ultra-low sulfur diesel was at the highest seasonal levels since 2019, while jet fuel demand at 1.83 million bpd was the highest of any month since August 2019.

Meanwhile, the country’s oil production slowed marginally for the second time in three months. Total U.S. oil production fell 25,000 bpd from June to 13.205 million bpd in July, EIA data showed.

Some oil analysts and investors have been watching for signs of a slowdown in U.S. output as record deliveries from the country, along with weak economic activity in China, have weighed heavily on oil prices this year. The US saw a monthly record of 13.3 million bpd last December, according to EIA data.

Texas oil production fell 34,000 bpd from June to 5.71 million bpd in July, EIA data showed. It was the first monthly decline in the country’s largest oil-producing region since January.

Production also fell in North Dakota, the third oil-producing state in the country. North Dakota field production fell 20,000 bpd from June to 1.16 million bpd in July, the lowest since January, according to EIA data.

No. 2 oil producer New Mexico bucked the trend, with output rising 25,000 bpd to a record 2.04 million bpd, EIA data showed.

Crude output from 48 U.S. states rose to a five-month high of 116.7 billion cubic feet per day in July, according to the EIA’s 914 monthly production report.

This was the first time gas production has risen for two consecutive months since December 2023 and compares with a monthly record of 118.2 bcfd also in December 2023.

In the largest gas-producing states, monthly production in July rose to a record 35.7 bcfd in Texas and a five-month high of 21.0 bcfd in Pennsylvania.

That compares to a monthly record of 21.9 bcfd in Pennsylvania in December 2021.