Gasoline Demand Dropped in June

Gasoline demand dropped in June. You're probably thinking: "whoop-de-duh!", because of course demand went down as prices went up, and prices didn't peak until July. But the latest data we have from the EIA is June, and that's what came out today, after the market closed today. The drop was quite large.

From Marketwatch ...

A monthly report issued by the EIA on Tuesday said total crude oil and products supplied, which is a good indication of domestic consumption, was at around 19.553 million barrels per day in June of this year. That was down from 20.737 million barrels per day a year earlier.

and from Dow Jones Newswires ...

Amid record high prices, U.S. oil demand in June was 1.17 million barrels a day, or 5.6%, lower than a year ago, at 19.553 million barrels a day - the lowest level for the month since 1998 - revised government figures released Tuesday show.

The revised June figure shows the weakest demand for any month since May 2003, data from the Energy Information Administration show. The decline in June demand for oil is the steepest in any month since a 7.2% fall in February, when demand fell 1.527 million barrels a day.

I'm guessing news of this EIA data leaked out, which explains why oil prices didn't blast off today as Gustav took aim at the Gulf of Mexico.

I'm also guessing that we'll see usage drop again next month -- because that's when we'll get July's numbers. The more interesting thing to find out is what is happening now. Are people starting to drive more again as prices at the pump fall? Gas prices are down an average 42 cents a gallon since peaking in mid-July.

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