WASHINGTON, July 16 (UPI) -- The U.S. Energy Department said it had to revise data on the movement of gasoline from the southern U.S. coast to East Coast markets.
The Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Energy Department, corrected estimates from its East Coast and Gulf Coast administrative districts.
"A recent revision to petroleum product movements in the petroleum supply monthly [report] has increased the estimated consumption of gasoline in the East Coast and lowered the estimated consumption of gasoline in the Gulf Coast of the United States," it said Monday.
The EIA said it reported a decline in the amount of gasoline moving from refineries in the Gulf Coast from October 2012, coinciding with Hurricane Sandy's rampage along the East Coast. It said some of the data was reported incorrectly to the agency by a responder and had been corrected.
The EIA estimates the summer driving season, which lasts through November, is expected to increase gasoline demand by 300,000 barrels per day. The online Oil & Gas Journal estimates gasoline stocks on the East Coast and Gulf Coast are on the rise, while inventories for the Midwest remain at less than 2012 levels because of refinery and pipeline problems.
The journal's analysis from early July correlates roughly with gasoline prices in the United States where Midwest consumers are paying an average $4 per gallon compared to $3.40 for Gulf Coast consumers.
