Key Economic Indicators
U.S Energy Balance of Production, Consumption and Trade
Total aggregate U.S. energy production and exports were stable during the last eight years (1995-2003). However, import prices have increasingly become the driving force in determining the U.S. energy balance component shares (production, exports, imports, and consumption). From 1995 to 2003, consumption increased from approximately 91 quadrillion Btu to more than 98 quadrillion Btu. Energy production levels in the U.S. have remained largely stagnant in recent years, actually declining in 1999 and 2000 and slightly increasing in 2002. The growing gap between consumption and production has been filled by imports, which grew from 22.6 quadrillion Btu in 1995 to more than 31.1 quadrillion Btu in 2003.
Note that these figures only demonstrate the quantity of production, consumption, imports, and exports without investigating the underlying reasons for shifts in energy balance. However, including energy pricing information (see the world oil prices indicator link) suggests that lower prices of imported energy has played a major role in expanding consumption (demand) for foreign oil. Therefore, the U.S. energy balance appears very sensitive to world energy prices.
