Despite a marked rise in U.S. air travel numbers this year compared to 2020, jet fuel inventories have climbed in recent months as refiners boosted production, while jet fuel demand is still lower than pre-pandemic levels. Refiners in the United States have raised jet fuel production by almost 8 percent, or 102,000 barrels per day (bpd), since the first week of May, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday. However, as of July 23, the combined total U.S. jet fuel inventory was 9.9 percent higher than the five-year (2016–2020) combined average due to increased jet fuel production and lower product supplied. To compare, as of the same day, July 23, U.S. gasoline inventories were down 0.6 percent, and the combined total distillate fuel oil inventory was 6.8 percent below the five-year combined average. Airline travel across the United States is picking up, but not at the same rate […]