ENERGY

Oil Imports at Record High: A drop in domestic production coupled with rising demand stoked the growth in imports, the American Petroleum Institute said. Imports rose 3.3% to a record 8.89 million barrels a day last year, from 8.61 million in 1993, the group said. The previous record level of imports was 8.79 million barrels daily in 1977. Industry officials said tough regulations on where drilling can take place again contributed to the trend of declining domestic production.