American motorists pumped an average of 9.359 million barrels per day in the week that ended November 28, up 1.7% [image-nocss] from the previous week as average gasoline prices dropped 16 cents to $1.85 per gallon, the SpendingPulse report by MasterCard showed.
The average price for gasoline, which has been well above year-ago levels for much of the year, is now 40.1% lower than it was one year ago, said the report.
Gasoline demand was 0.3% below year-ago levels, but McNamara said the Thanksgiving holiday skewed the year-on-year comparisons because the comparable week last year was actually the week after Thanksgiving.
The four-week moving average for gasoline demand dropped 2.1% from year-ago levels.
The one region that was the exception to the rule was the West Coast, where demand was down 4% as gasoline prices remain comparatively high at an average of $2.08 per gallon.
"The economic pressures in some ways are a little bit more acute in some ways out there," McNamara said.
MasterCard Advisors estimates retail gasoline demand based on aggregate sales activity in the MasterCard payments system coupled with estimates for all other payment forms including cash and checks. MasterCard Advisors is a unit of MasterCard Inc.
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