The recent scandal involving Volkswagen’s diesel engine testing could increase crude oil demand due to higher gasoline consumption, according to Adam Sieminski, administrator for the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Mr. Sieminski reasoned that if more light automobiles switched from diesel, crude demand would grow due to more oil being needed to process gasoline. Gasoline demand is rising especially in U.S. and emerging markets where consumption is growing due to continued low oil prices. EIA data suggests that gasoline consumption in the U.S. increased by 3% during the first half of 2015, compared with the corresponding period of 2014. Gasoline is expected to grow by 210,000 barrels a day in 2015, a rise of 2.3%. Gasoline consumption rose by 80,000 b/d in 2014. China is driving growth from the emerging markets, with consumption hitting 2.7 million b/d in August, a year-on-year rise of 17%. “When oil […]