–Crude-oil imports drop 3.3% vs year earlier in September –Crude, products imports drop to 17-year September low –Crude stocks at second highest end-September level since 1980 By David Bird NEW YORK–U.S. oil demand rose 2.7% year-on-year in September to 18.571 million barrels a day, reflecting modest economic improvement in the world’s biggest oil consumer, the American Petroleum Institute said Friday. For the entire third quarter, demand gained 1.7% from a year earlier, to 18.909 million barrels a day, the trade group said. “Demand for petroleum products remains consistent with a gradually improving economy,” said John Felmy, API’s chief economist. Demand for gasoline, the nation’s most widely used petroleum product, increased 2.1% in September from a year earlier, to 8.737 million barrels a day, and rose 1.2% to 8.951 million barrels a day in the third quarter from the year-earlier period. September demand for distillate fuel, the umbrella grouping for […]