U.S. oil imports dip

WASHINGTON, June 20 (UPI) -- Crude oil imports into the U.S. market are at their lowest levels since the 1990s, the American Petroleum Institute said.

API said total imports for May, the last full month for which data are available, averaged just under 9.6 million barrels per day, which is 4.5 percent less than the same time last year. That's the lowest level for May since 1995.

"Last month saw a continuation of recent trends, with strong demand and even stronger production resulting in falling import levels," API Chief Economist John Felmy said in a statement.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly petroleum report the United States imported on average 7.2 million bpd for the week ending June 13, which is up 88,000 bpd from previous week. Long-term trends, however, show a general import decline.

On the production side, API said the United States produced 8.3 million bpd in May, the highest level for the month since 1987.

Petroleum deliveries, a measure of demand, rose 1.9 percent in May, the highest level for the month in six years.