Although gasoline prices are dropping ahead of the Memorial Day weekend and the start of the summer driving season, there is no sign motorists are rushing to the pump to top off their tanks.
Data released Monday by the Federal Highway Administration show the number of miles driven on U.S. roads rose in March compared with February but still was below March 2009, in the depths of the recession.
There is no sign of anything more than a modest increase in demand for gasoline so far this year. Last week’s MasterCard SpendingPulse report showed consumption of gasoline for the first two weeks of May running about 1.3 percent ahead of last year. For the year, consumption has risen about 1 percent. Demand is 4 percent below 2007 levels, according to the MasterCard report, which tallies total gas sales paid by credit card, checks and cash.
