This past Sunday registered the highest gallons count of gasoline demand GasBuddy has ever recorded in data going back to 2017, Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for the fuel-savings app, said on Tuesday.
According to GasBuddy data, U.S. gasoline demand on Sunday jumped by 12.6 percent compared to the previous Sunday. It was also 14.5 percent above the average of the last four Sundays, De Haan noted.
U.S. gasoline prices fell slightly last week from the highs on March 11, when they hit $4.33 per gallon of regular gasoline, AAA said on Monday.
Since March 11, the national average for a gallon of gasoline has fallen to $4.25. As of March 22, the national average was $4.242 per gallon, per AAA data.
The main reason for the lower gasoline prices since March 11 was the lower international crude oil prices, which slumped last week as a COVID resurgence and new lockdowns in China sent the market questioning immediate fuel demand in the world’s largest crude oil importer.
“Domestically, gasoline demand is defying seasonal trends and has dipped slightly, perhaps in response to higher prices at the pump,” AAA said on Monday.
“Usually this time of year, with warmer weather and longer days, we’d see an uptick in gasoline demand as more people hit the road,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “But we had a slight drop in demand last week, which may be due to higher pump prices. In our new survey of drivers, 59% said they would change their driving habits or lifestyle if the cost of gas hit $4 per gallon. And if gas were to reach $5, which it has in the Western part of the country, three-quarters said they would need to adjust their lifestyle to offset the pump price.”
Meanwhile, Los Angeles has become the first major U.S. city to reach the $6 per gallon average after reaching $5/gal just weeks ago, GasBuddy’s De Haan said today.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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