NEW YORK: US crude production rose 2% in November to 11.753 million barrels per day, the highest since April 2020, according to a monthly report on Monday from the US Energy Information Administration.

US oil production rose 244,000 bpd in November from the previous month, the EIA said. US oil production rose in the Gulf of Mexico and in top producing onshore states Texas and North Dakota, the report showed.

Demand for finished petroleum products, which include gasoline and diesel, rose in November by 13% from a year earlier to 16.914 million bpd.

Gasoline demand rose by 12% from a year earlier to 8.989 million bpd.

Fuel consumption is compared to year-ago levels because demand is seasonal.

US demand has been a closely watched metric of the oil market’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, gross natural gas output for the US excluding Alaska was about 108.096 billion cubic feet a day in November, up from 106.663 bcf/d in October.