U.S. Gasoline Demand Drops 3.3 Percent Since Last Year

NATIONAL REPORT – Newly released research from MasterCard Inc. shows U.S. drivers' demand for gasoline fell 3.3 percent from a year ago, according to a Bloomberg report. Meanwhile, average gasoline prices rose 35 percent in the same time period.

Drivers purchased 9.11 million barrels of fuel per day during the week that ended Aug. 5, down 1.8 percent from the previous week, according to MasterCard's SpendingPulse report. The average price per gallon remained unchanged at $3.70.

When averaged over four weeks, gasoline use fell 2.2 percent from the same time last year, said John Gamel, SpendingPulse's director of economic analysis. This marked the 20th week in a row that demand fell on that basis.

The report was assembled by the company's consulting firm, MasterCard Advisors, and was based on information gathered from credit card swipes and cash and check payments at approximately 140,000 U.S. gas stations, according to the report.

MasterCard is the second-largest payments network company by transactions processed, following Visa.