EIA: Oil demand to hit pre-coronavirus levels in 2021

The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) July Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) forecasts that America's consumption of total petroleum and other liquid fuels will continue rising in the second half of 2020 alongside a recovery in the economic activity. However, levels are expected to remain lower than the 2019 average until August 2021. 

Key points

EIA expects high inventory levels and surplus crude oil production capacity will limit upward price pressures in the coming months, but as inventories decline into 2021, those upward price pressures will increase

EIA assumes employment levels will continue to grow in 2021, and gasoline consumption will increase to 9.1 million barrels per day, or to about 2% less than its 2019 average.