Gasoline demand has soared in 2021 after last year’s plummet, with the Covid vaccine causing Americans to return to the roads. Gasoline supplied, a measure of demand, is well above seasonal averages.
But as gasoline consumption has risen to surpass pre-pandemic levels, oil production continues to lag. That’s meant that refineries are paying more for the crude they process into fuel; crude oil made up about 57% of production costs for those facilities last month. Further adding to the pressure on retail fuel prices, several U.S. refineries have been closed over the last two years.
-With assistance from Devika Krishna Kumar and Mike Jeffers.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.