Meeting rising gasoline demand heading into the summer months is the best bet for U.S. refineries to stop the losses they had incurred last year and in the first quarter this year. U.S. refiners had to not only suffer through the collapse in fuel demand when the pandemic started hitting mobility in March 2020, but many along the Gulf Coast had to shut operations for weeks during the Texas Freeze and pay higher electricity and natural gas costs. Some of the largest U.S. refiners said earlier this month that the losses from 2020 continued through the first quarter, also due to demand and supply outages during the winter storms in February and increased costs for power. Refiners, however, started to express optimism about the 2021 fuel demand recovery as early as in January when they reported the 2020 earnings. Vaccine rollouts and economic growth are expected to drive increased […]