NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters) - U.S. oil demand rose 2.3 percent in April to the highest level for the month in four years, led by another surge in demand for heating oil, while gasoline output reached a record high as exports boomed, industry group American Petroleum Institute said on Thursday.     Petroleum demand rose to just under 19 million barrels per day, with distillate fuel consumption jumping 8.8 percent, the API said. Demand for high-sulfur distillate fuel (HSD), now used almost exclusively for home and industrial heating, surged 49 percent from a year ago to 412,000 bpd, it said.     Gasoline demand rose more modestly, climbing 2.7 percent from a year ago.      Gasoline production set a new all-time record, surging 9.2 percent from a month ago to 9.8 million bpd, and distillate production rose 12.1 percent to 5 million bpd, the most ever for the month of April. Refined product exports rose to 3.7 million bpd, up 16 percent from a year ago.     The data also showed U.S. crude oil production continued to set new decades-high records, topping 8.2 million bpd, up 2.2 percent from March. Total petroleum imports in April fell to 10.1 million bpd, the second-lowest monthly level in 17 years, the API said.     "April brought strong year-over-year growth in both the production and refining sectors," said API Chief Economist John Felmy. "The oil and natural gas industry continues to provide a solid base for growth in the larger economy."     The report, which is compiled based on data from the group's weekly reports, provides a more consolidated early glimpse of consumption and production trends in the world's biggest oil consumer. Final U.S. government data, which includes hard figures for statistics including exports, is released only two months in arrears.                                  U.S. DELIVERIES, IMPORTS, PRODUCTION                                   ('000 barrels per day)                                                  April      April      Yr/Yr     Year-to-Date          YTD  Disposition:                               2014       2013       % Change  2014        2013      % Change  Total motor gasoline                       9,001      8,766      2.7       8,676       8,503     2.0    Finished reformulated                    2,840      2,871      (1.1)     2,748       2,759     (0.4)    Finished conventional                    6,161      5,895      4.5       5,928       5,744     3.2  Kerosine-jet                               1,407      1,414      (0.5)     1,374       1,351     1.7  Distillate fuel oil                        4,212      3,871      8.8       4,130       3,917     5.4    < 500 ppm sulfur                         3,800      3,595      5.7       3,703       3,521     5.2      < 15 ppm sulfur                        3,765      3,538      6.4       3,660       3,496     4.7    > 500 ppm sulfur                         412        276        49.2      427         397       7.8  Residual fuel oil                          248        284        (12.7)    259         344       (24.7)  All other oils (including crude losses)    4,137      4,152      (0.4)     4,191       4,417     (5.1)  Reclassified4                              (22)       66         na        37          50        na  Total domestic product supplied            18,983     18,553     2.3       18,667      18,582    0.5    Exports                                  3,721      3,208      16.0      3,842       3,107     23.7  Total disposition                          22,704     21,761     4.3       22,509      21,689    3.8  PRODUCTION                                                                                                   Crude oil (including condensate)           8,248      7,325      12.6      8,073       7,157     12.8  Natural gas liquids                        2,696      2,469      9.2       2,670       2,439     9.5  Other supply                               1,181      990        19.4      1,106       948       16.7  Total domestic supply                      12,125     10,783     12.4      11,849      10,544    12.4  IMPORTS                                                                                                        Crude oil (excluding SPR imports)        8,012      7,726      3.7       7,621       7,609     0.2      From Canada                            2,093      2,517      (16.8)    2,426       2,633     (7.8)      All other                              5,919      5,209      13.6      5,195       4,976     4.4    Products                                 2,128      2,349      (9.4)     1,894       2,101     (9.8)      Total motor gasoline (incl blendcomp)  537        741        (27.5)    468         611       (23.4)      All other                              1,591      1,608      (1.1)     1,426       1,490     (4.3)  Total imports                              10,140     10,076     0.6       9,515       9,711     (2.0)  Total supply                               22,265     20,859     6.7       21,364      20,255    5.5  Stock change, all oils                     (439)      (902)      na        (1,145)     (1,434)   na    (Reporting By Jonathan Leff; Editing by David Gregorio)  ((ayesha.rascoe@thomsonreuters.com)(202-310-5683))  Keywords: USA API/MONTHLY