Summer US Gasoline Demand Leaves Bulls Wanting

摘要

The traditional summer peak for US gasoline demand has shown up in recent data as more drivers take to the road for holidays, but the August average for this year was still down 10% compared to 2019. The rate of consumption fell short of earlier bullish expectations that gasoline would see a full recovery from Covid-19 lockdowns due to pent-up consumer demand and a shift away from mass transit. Instead, the sharp upticks in demand seen during May and June lost momentum in July and recovered only slightly in August, even as prices -the most important factor in “normal” US gasoline demand -stay low (OD Aug.31'20).