Even before the arrival of summer driving season, gasoline demand climbed on Sunday and Monday compared to the four week average, Gas Buddy's head of petroleum analysis Patrick DeHaan said on Tuesday.
U.S. gasoline demand on Sunday and Monday was up 7% compared to the respective four week averages-and the highest level since the week of September 25, 2022, DeHaan said in a Tuesday tweet.
On Monday, GasBuddy data showed that gas prices in the United States had fallen for the first time in two weeks to an average of $3.40 per gallon. On Tuesday, AAA showed the current average price for a gallon of gas in the United States at $3.436 per gallon-down from $3.443 per gallon on Monday and down from $3.466 a week ago.
Despite the huge dropoff in crude oil prices, gasoline prices are still higher than they were a month ago, according to AAA data.
"The broad concern over recent failures of the U.S. and global banking system has put enough downward pressure on oil prices that we saw a reprieve in rising gasoline prices in the national average last week. But, it may be temporary in nature, and is unlikely to be a long lasting trend," De Haan said in a Monday note.
"While California and areas of the West Coast saw some moderation in price, supply challenges amidst the transition to summer gasoline have led to sharp price increases in Arizona, and other markets saw varying impacts at the gas pump over the last week. Should the outlook for the banking sector improve, we could again see gasoline prices race higher, while continued or additional distress could raise the possibility of a broader economic slowdown, keeping gasoline prices in check. Overall, there are a lot of possibilities."
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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Julianne Geiger is a veteran editor, writer and researcher for Oilprice.com, and a member of the Creative Professionals Networking Group. More
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