Last month, U.S. crude imports reached a two-year record as refiners snatched up heavy crudes imported from Canada and Latin America for processing into fuels to be used during the summer driving season.

Kpler, a ship tracking service, reported that crude oil imports rose to 3.1 millions barrels per day in May, their highest level since July 2022. The imports have been strong so far in this month, with around 2.9m bpd.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that fuel demand remained tepid, with gasoline product supply at 9,1 million bpd during the week ending June 14. This was slightly lower than the seasonal average of the past 10 years.

According to EIA, the U.S. supply of distillate fuel was also around 3.7 millions bpd. This is about 3% less than the seasonal average.

The newly expanded Trans Mountain Pipeline boosted the flow of crude oil to the U.S. West Coast. Imports in May were 39% more than in the same month last year.

Mexico, Guyana, and Colombia all saw an increase in supplies. Guyana crude oil reached a record of 99,000 barrels per day and Colombia climbed to a nearly two-year high. Imports of oil from the Mexican state company Pemex have rebounded after a brief drop in exports.

Rohit Rathod is a market analyst with energy research firm Vortexa.

Pemex had planned to reduce exports in May, but a weaker than expected demand from Pemex domestic refineries cancelled the plan. This month, imports from Mexico have been at a record high of 624,000 barrels per day.

According to Kpler, the top four importers of May refining were Chevron Marathon Petroleum Valero Energy Phillips 66. Reporting by Arathy S. Somasekhar, Houston; editing by David Gregorio