Refinery operations ramped higher last week, but still couldn't top the 90% mark. Gasoline production did advance by a little more than 100,000 b/d while diesel output was basically flat. The 800,000/bbl drop in gasoline inventories came mostly from blending components which eased by more than a million bbl last week. Finished gasoline inventories inched higher. East of the Rockies saw a relatively comfortable supply situation . but the. West Coast slipped below 2007 levels for the first time in recent memory, thanks to a 700,000/bbl decline. Gasoline imports rebounded past 1.1 million b/d and imports have been above the 1-million bbl mark in three of the last four weeks. Demand inched a bit higher to 9.359 million b/d, but on a rolling four-week average, gasoline demand is down versus 2007. Marketers believe that demand is considerably behind May 2007 levels, with some suggesting it might be off by as much as 5%-10%.
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