The U.S. is once again swimming in gasoline as the pandemic worsens, underscoring the uphill battle facing the oil industry in the coming months before a vaccine can be widely distributed.
Stockpiles in the week ending December 4 grew about 4 million barrels from the previous week to about 238 million barrels, the Energy Information Administration said. That’s the highest seasonally since at least the mid-1990s when data on gasoline started being kept and the biggest single-week build since April, when driving had slowed to a halt.
Demand as reflected in gasoline supplied has been falling since late August and last week was at its lowest since May, the EIA said. At nearly 1.2 million barrels a day below December 2019 levels, the loss of demand represents the equivalent of filling up more than 2 million full Ford F-150 pickup trucks a day.