HOUSTON, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The increase in economic activity and easing of COVID-19-related restrictions have contributed to rising energy use, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report on Tuesday.
In its Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) for May, EIA expected that the world consumed 96.2 million barrels per day (b/d) of petroleum and liquid fuels in April, an increase of 15.8 million b/d from April 2020 but 4.0 million b/d less than April 2019 levels.
According to the agency, global consumption of petroleum and liquid fuels will average 97.7 million b/d for all of 2021, which is a 5.4 million b/d increase from 2020. It forecast that consumption of petroleum and liquid fuels will increase by 3.7 million b/d in 2022 to average 101.4 million b/d.
As for the United States, EIA expected gasoline consumption in the country will average almost 9.0 million b/d this summer from April to September, which is 1.2 million b/d more than last summer but almost 0.6 million b/d less than summer 2019.
For the crude oil prices, Brent crude oil spot prices averaged 65 U.S. dollars per barrel in April, unchanged from the average in March. Brent prices were steady in April as market participants considered diverging trends in global COVID-19 cases.
EIA forecast that Brent prices will average 65 dollars per barrel in the second quarter of 2021, 61 dollars per barrel during the second half of 2021, and 61 dollars per barrel in 2022.