Overcooking US gasoline demand
Has the country been burning more gasoline than ever before? The data paint a confusing picture
Herculean US gasoline demand has been propping up cracking margins on both sides of the Atlantic since the beginning of last year. In response, refiners have pumped out as much of the road fuel-and other products besides-as they can, chasing maximum profit. But are American drivers really hitting the roads with such abandon? To find out, the oil industry relies on Energy Information Administration (EIA) data, the best and most transparent source of consumption numbers available. Those data have been bullish, showing that as the annual driving season kicked in US gasoline demand soared to a record 9.82m barrels a day in the week ending 17 June. That was 160,000 b/d more than a year earlier. I
Also in this section
24 March 2026
It is an unusual story of out with the new and in with the old, as America First Refining shows the US going back to trusted energy security developments
23 March 2026
A complex and sometimes contradictory web of factors that include unpredictable oil prices, the globalisation of LNG markets, the expansion of Middle Eastern sovereign capital and the growth of datacentre demand will shape the energy landscape beyond 2026
23 March 2026
The Strait of Hormuz crisis highlights how key waterways can become global chokepoints
20 March 2026
Attacks on key oil and LNG assets across the Gulf mean a prolonged supply disruption, with damage to Qatar’s export capacity undermining confidence in the global gas system
