For the second month demand is up from a year ago. Consumer confidence has improved and distillate deliveries are up, but gasoline demand remains weak.

—API Chief Economist John Felmy

Gasoline demand averaged 8.5 million barrels per day for the month, while distillate deliveries at 3.8 million barrels per day were up 1.4% from April a year ago. Kerosine-jet fuel demand was down 1.8 %, and residual fuel oil demand was down by 22.8%.

Demand for “other oils”—which include liquid petrochemical feedstocks, naphtha, and gasoil and are nearly one-fourth of total deliveries—was up 12.5% in April from April 2012.

Refinery gross inputs were above 15.0 million barrels per day for the first time this year. Production of all major refined products—gasoline, distillates, jet fuel, and residual fuels—was higher than deliveries, so products were exported, increasing by 1.0% from this March.

At nearly 8.9 million barrels per day, gasoline production rose to its third highest April output ever, increasing by 2.2% from March 2013 and 1.3% from April 2012. Production of distillate fuel and jet fuel were also up, with distillate production at 4.5 million barrels per day achieving its highest April level ever.

Total US crude oil production remained above 7.0 million barrels per day for the sixth month in a row and was at a 21-year high at 7.3 million barrels per day, a 1.7% increase from March and 15.9% higher than April 2012. The number of oil and gas rigs decreased from 1,756 in March to 1,755 in April, according to the latest reports from Baker-Hughes, Inc.

April crude oil stocks ended at 388.9 million barrels, the highest inventory level for the month since 1981. Motor gasoline stocks at 218.0 million barrels were down by 1.4% but up 3.6% from the same month a year ago. Distillate fuel stocks ended at a five-year low, down 7.1% to 115.7 million barrels from year ago levels.

Total imports were below 10.0 million barrels per day for only the third time in over 15 years, falling 6.4% from April last year. With increased crude production and record crude inventories, crude oil imports in April were at their lowest in 16 years, falling 6.7% from April 2012 to 8.0 million barrels per day. Refined product imports were down 5.0% from the previous April to average 1.9 million barrels per day.

The refinery utilization rate averaged 86.5% for April 2013, up 2.6% from the prior month but down 0.1% from April 2012. API’s latest refinery operable capacity was 17.820 million barrels per day up from 17.718 million barrels per day this past March.