The Institute for Energy Research (IER) recently determined that despite gas prices decreasing due to demand destruction and high inflation, Americans are still leery about regularly purchasing gasoline.
“The stagnating demand this summer suggests that the recent drop in gasoline prices has not been enough to entice drivers back on the road,” IER wrote in a July 28 post on its website. “It appears that more people are not taking road trips in the summer of 2022 as daily life has become costlier with high gasoline prices helping to push inflation to 9.1 percent in June.”
IER found that gasoline demand lowered throughout the summer because “demand tends to be more elastic during the summer months than the rest of the year” and spikes in gas prices cause individuals to “forego trips and family visits.”
IER stated gas prices have exponentially dropped from a high of $5.016 per gallon. AAA found gas prices, as of Aug. 7, rested at an average of $4.069 per gallon which is lower than this summer’s peak but still 37% above last year and 70% above the average gas price when President Biden was sworn into office.
Specially in Texas, according to AAA, the average gas price is $3.572 a gallon. Houston averages $3.642 a gallon while Dallas and San Antonio average $3.482 a gallon and $3.497 a gallon, respectively.
From July 1 to July 8, national gas consumption dropped by 9.7%, all the way down to 8.73 million barrels a day, according to IER. This is the lowest seasonal demand in the last 21 years other than during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The inflation rate of 9.1% is the single highest inflation rate in over 40 years, The Wall Street Journal reports.
