U.S. petroleum demand dipped in 2006

Monday, January 22, 2007

From an AP article by Dan Caterinicchia:

WASHINGTON - While oil companies reaped gargantuan profits in 2006 amid high prices, U.S. demand for petroleum dipped for the second year in a row, a trade group said Friday.

Total U.S. petroleum deliveries, a measure of demand, fell by roughly 1 percent to 20.6 million barrels per day, down from 20.8 million in 2005, which was below the 2004 level, according to a report by the American Petroleum Institute.

The analysis was released one day after the Paris-based International Energy Agency estimated that oil demand in the world's industrialized countries declined by 0.6 percent in 2006. Global demand rose in 2006 due to the strength of consumption in China and the Middle East, but the world's appetite has grown at a slower pace for two straight years.