U.S. jet fuel demand hit a record high last week as soccer fans thronged to New York and New Jersey to watch Spain take on Argentina in the final match of the World Cup, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday.
U.S. jet fuel product supplied – the EIA’s way of measuring demand based on how much fuel leaves refineries and other primary supply sources – reached about 2.15 million barrels per day during the week ended July 17, the data showed. The prior weekly record was 2.11 million bpd in December 2017, EIA data showed.
The jump in jet fuel demand was likely supported by the World Cup, UBS oil analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.
Fans showed up in record numbers for the first North American World Cup in more than three decades, overcoming early concerns that FIFA’s steep ticket prices and visa uncertainty in the U.S. would put a damper on the largest global sporting event. A Reuters analysis showed more than half the group stage matches were filled to capacity, and most of the rest were only a few hundred short of a full house.
The tournament’s final match on July 19, in which Spain overcame defending champions Argentina in a tense, dramatic affair, was played in front of a packed New Jersey stadium with more than 80,600 fans in attendance. The U.S. Transportation Security Administration reported more than 2.9 million passengers passed through its airport security checkpoints on July 19.
The bump in air travel during the World Cup would have been welcome news for U.S. refiners, which over recent months had geared their operations to maximize jet fuel production as the Iran war raised supply concerns around the world and drove record demand for U.S. fuel exports.
U.S. refiners’ and fuel blenders’ jet fuel production averaged 2.14 million bpd last week, and 2.18 million bpd the week before that, which was a record high for this time of the year, EIA data showed.
The latest edition of the World Cup was the first one played across three different countries – the U.S., Canada and Mexico – driving the surge in air travel.
“Unlike a single-nation tournament, fans following their teams across venues will generate inter-regional domestic and cross-border flying,” the International Air Transport Association said in a report published in June.
(Reporting by Shariq Khan and Liz Hampton; Editing by Jamie Freed)