US demand for liquid fuels will rise slowly over the next two years to 18.77 million b/d in 2014, driven by distillate and liquid petroleum gas consumption from a recovering industrial sector, the Energy Information Administration said Tuesday.
Gasoline and jet fuel demand are expected to stay flat during that two-year period, the agency said in its Short-Term Energy Outlook for January.
The agency attributed the flat gasoline prediction demand to the continued slow growth in the driving-age population, improvements in the average fuel economy of new vehicles and the retirement of older gasoline-guzzlers.
EIA sees liquid fuel demand averaging 18.71 million b/d this year.
US liquid fuel consumption closed out 2012 at 18.65 million b/d, the agency said.
"All of the major petroleum categories contributed to the slide in consumption in 2012 despite the continued economic recovery and little change in year-over-year inflation-adjusted retail fuel prices," EIA said.
