Gas Prices Rises Again as Demand Drops
Policy + Politics

Gas Prices Rises Again as Demand Drops

U.S. gasoline demand fell once again last week, down 0.8 percent from the previous week, as prices rose to just under $4 a gallon, MasterCard said in its weekly Spending Pulse report on Tuesday.

Gasoline demand in the week to April 6, which covered the Easter and Passover holiday weekend, fell 2.4 percent compared with the same week last year, MasterCard said.

A gallon of gasoline cost $3.94 at the pump last week , 2 cents higher than the previous week. This was 5.9 percent more expensive than a year earlier.

The U.S. department of energy projects retail gasoline prices will peak in May at an average $4.01 a gallon.

MasterCard data also showed the four-week moving average for demand dropped for the 55th straight week, down 4.7 percent from a year earlier.

MasterCard Advisors, a unit of MasterCard Inc, estimates retail gasoline demand based on aggregate sales in the MasterCard payments system coupled with estimates for other payment forms including cash and checks.

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