U.S. June oil demand down 5.4 percent from year ago

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. demand for crude oil and petroleum products declined 5.4 percent during June as the weak economy continued to take a toll on energy consumption, the American Petroleum Institute said on Thursday.

June’s total petroleum product deliveries, excluding exports, averaged 18.607 million barrels per day, down 1.071 million bpd from a year ago, the API said in its monthly oil report.

Deliveries, which are a good indicator of demand, are calculated by the API to reflect petroleum products moved from refineries and bulk storage to wholesale and retail suppliers.

U.S. petroleum demand declined 6 percent to 18.75 million bpd in the first half of 2009, falling to the lowest level for the 6-month period in more than 10 years.

Reuters