US retail gasoline demand dropped over year-ago levels for the eighth week in a row last week, even though demand slightly increased from the previous week, MasterCard Advisors said Tuesday.
American motorists pumped an average of 9.189 million barrels per day in the week that ended March 14, an increase of 1.5 percent from the previous week but 0.9 percent below the same week last year.
"It's not unusual to see week-to-week increases at this time of year as you come out of winter into spring," said Michael McNamara, vice president of MasterCard Advisors. "What is somewhat unusual is the year-over-year declines that we continuing to see we think that it still has to do with the higher price thresholds. We're seeing some significant push-back," he said.
With the national average for retail gasoline prices at $3.26 a gallon, the highest average retail price since MasterCard started gathering data, Americans are driving less, McNamara said. The four-week moving average for gasoline demand, which is generally more indicative of long-term trends, also pointed to dwindling demand, falling 2.5 percent from the same period last year.