U.S. crude oil production rose 286,000 bbl/d in September to 10.86 million bbl/d, as production increased in North Dakota and in offshore waters in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GoM).

Oil production rose 61,000 bbl/d in North Dakota and 315,000 bbl/d in the offshore GoM, offsetting cuts in Texas, where output fell 60,000 bbl/d.

Production rebounded slightly at a time when many analysts had expected it to fall. Still, output remained below the post-pandemic high of 10.97 million bbl/d, reported in July.

Low demand has weighed on the market during the coronavirus pandemic, even as production has risen from lows seen in the spring.

U.S. gasoline demand was down 6.8%, or 624,000 bbl/d, from a year earlier at 8.545 million bbl/d. Demand for diesel and other distillate fuel fell 2.5%, or 97,000 bbl/d, from a year earlier at 3.818 million bbl/d.

Monthly gross natural gas production in the U.S. Lower 48 states, meanwhile, slipped 0.9% to 99.9 Bcf/d in September.

That was the first monthly decline in Lower 48 output since May. Current gas output remains well below December 2019's record 107.1 Bcf/d average due to steep, coronavirus-related declines earlier in the year.

In top gas producing states, output fell 1.9% in Texas to 27.7 Bcf/d and 4.5% in Pennsylvania 19.4 Bcf/d in September.