More energy was consumed in the commercial sectors of eight U.S. states in 2021 than in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic. The increases in commercial sector end-use energy consumption in those states bucked the national trend, in which total commercial energy use decreased by 3% in 2021 compared with 2019, according to our State Energy Data System.

In the first half of 2023 (1H23), natural gas spot prices at Texas hubs traded closer to the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub than in the second half of 2022 (2H22). The price difference narrowed in 1H23 because both Freeport LNG and the El Paso Natural Gas Company's Line 2000 returned to service in February 2023 and because natural gas production increased at a slower pace than in 2022. The Houston Ship Channel—a key regional trading hub for natural gas in East Texas—averaged $0.27 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) below the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub price in 1H23. Similarly, the Waha Hub in West Texas, in the Permian Basin production region, averaged $0.85/MMBtu below Henry Hub.

Uranium concentrate (U₃O₈) production in the United States was nearly 10 times higher than the previous year in 2022, partly as a result of higher uranium prices. U.S. U₃O₈ production remained near historic lows despite operations resuming at the White Mesa Mill, the United States' only operating conventional uranium mill.

Midwest distillate inventories increased rapidly in June and early July due to increased regional refinery production and limitations on moving distillate and other products outside the region. Distillate fuel oil includes products such as diesel fuel and heating oil. In the five weeks between June 9 and July 14, regional distillate inventories increased 18% (4.7 million barrels). Prior to June, Midwest regional inventories had been trending near or below the bottom of the previous five-year (2018–22) range.

U.S. natural gas pipeline exports to Mexico averaged a record 6.8 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) for June 2023, which is 0.1 Bcf/d greater than the previous record, set in June 2021, according to data from Wood Mackenzie. Natural gas exports to Mexico surpassed 7.0 Bcf/d on nine days in June, driven by higher-than-normal temperatures that increased demand for natural gas in Mexico´s electric power sector. U.S. natural gas pipeline exports to Mexico generally peak in the summer due to increased demand for electricity to power air conditioning. Mexico´s electric power sector consumption has grown an average 3% every year since 2018, according to data from Wood Mackenzie.