NEW YORK (Reuters) - Motorists logged 1.2 percent more miles on U.S. roads and highways in April compared with the same month last year, according to U.S. government data released on Tuesday, keeping pace to break last year's record volumes.
Motorists have traveled 1.01 trillion miles on U.S. roads and highways this year through April, a 1.5 percent increase over the same stretch last year, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The sustained strength in driving volumes is a good sign for refiners as the U.S. driving season kicks off in earnest.
U.S. gasoline demand, which accounts for 10 percent of global consumption, was down 2.7 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to the latest monthly data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The federal gasoline demand data is an estimate and can be wrong, analysts have warned.
Motorists logged 271.6 billion miles on U.S. roads and highways in April, up from 268.3 billion miles from a year earlier.
U.S. gasoline demand and vehicle miles traveled both hit records in 2016.
(Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
