Gasoline demand falters with average price on brink of $5/gallon

A Chevron station in Los Angeles. (Reuters)

Gasoline prices at all-time highs may be starting to put a dent on demand at the pump. Yahoo Finance spoke to several strategists to get their take on when consumers start buying less gas amid rising energy costs.

"One could argue that demand destruction for gasoline has already started," Peter McNally, global sector lead for industrials, materials, and energy at Third Bridge, told Yahoo Finance.

"Since the start of March, U.S. gasoline consumption is 6% lower than the corresponding period in 2019," pre-pandemic.

Gasoline prices are just pennies away from hitting $5/gallon nationwide. Roughly 15 states already have oil prices at that level, or higher.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has been tracking a slight dip in gasoline demand when compared to 2021.

"According to the EIA, gasoline demand over the last 4 weeks is about 2.0% less than this time last year. As prices continue to rise, I expect that the demand will continue to fall off compared to 2021," Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates told Yahoo Finance.

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