Energy stats of confusion

One of the hazards involved in energy analysis is placing too much emphasis on raw data, like the kind one finds in the U.S. Energy Information Agency

Notwithstanding that contradictory finding, EIA reported yesterday that demand for gasoline in the four-week period ending Aug. 25 was 1.6 percent higher than the same four-week period last year. Evidently, EIA is in no hurry to recalibrate the dials and instruments it uses for compiling its status reports. Analysts and traders, take note!

The difference between these numbers