U.S. Summer Gasoline Demand Falls to Eight-Year Low

NATIONAL REPORT -- Even in the height of vacation season, U.S. drivers didn't go as far this summer, with high fuel prices causing gasoline demand to fall to the lowest level since 2003, according to a Reuters report.

Data provided by U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that drivers pumped an average of 9.17 million barrels of fuel per day from the first week of June to the first week of September, with summer-long demand falling 1.8 percent from 2010, according to Reuters calculations based on four-week average consumption over the 14 weeks of summer.

Rising fuel prices from February to May culminated in an average price of $3.62 for a gallon of gas this summer, $1 higher than 2010, according to EIA data.

June gasoline demand was the highest in two years, thanks to prices falling from their May highs, but fuel prices rose again in July, and the following month saw the lowest August gasoline demand since 2001.

EIA data also showed a 1.94-million-barrel build in gasoline stocks last week against forecasts for a 500,000-barrel drawdown, according to the report. Following the release of the data, U.S. gasoline futures fell more than 2 percent to a five-week low.