UK petroleum consumption is growing at some of the fastest rates for a decade, as strong economic growth and cheaper fuel prices spur increased use. Consumption of petroleum products rose by 1.6 percent in the first six months of 2015 compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) ( link.reuters.com/zud75w ). Consumption has been growing consistently since the third quarter of 2014, coinciding with a maturing economic recovery and a sharp drop in oil prices ( link.reuters.com/wud75w ). Like most of the other advanced industrial economies, Britain’s consumption of petroleum products peaked in 2005, then declined sharply as oil prices climbed to more than $140 per barrel in 2008. The recession took another big chunk out of oil consumption, but even as the economy recovered between 2010 and 2014, demand mostly continued to fall as high prices encouraged […]