U.S. oil production rose 260,000 barrels per day (bpd) month-over-month to a record 13.46 million bpd in October as demand surged to the highest levels since the pandemic, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed on Tuesday.
U.S. oil output has grown rapidly this year, even as concerns of oversupply have weighed heavily on prices for the commodity amid weaker-than-expected demand growth, especially in China, the top oil importing nation.
Year-over-year, U.S. oil production rose 2.3% in October, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures prices averaged 16% lower during the month, according to Reuters calculations. WTI and global benchmark Brent crude are on track for their second consecutive annual losses in 2024.
The prior monthly record for U.S. oil output was 13.36 million bpd in August, EIA data showed.
U.S. product supplied for crude oil and petroleum, EIA’s way of measuring demand, rose by about 700,000 bpd to 21.01 million bpd in October, the highest since August 2019, the data showed.
Demand for distillate fuel oil, which includes diesel and heating oil, rose by 347,000 bpd to 4.06 million bpd in October, the highest in a year.
(Reporting by Shariq Khan in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)