U.S. gasoline demand rises along with prices

According to GasBuddy data, average gasoline prices in the U.S. have risen for the second consecutive week. The price has increased by 8.2 cents compared to the previous week and currently is $3.25 per gallon. Besides, the tech company notes that there has been a rise in gasoline demand, based on the data of using Pay with GasBuddy cards. Last week, the demand grew by 1.8%.

Head of petroleum analysis at Gas Buddy Patrick De Haan stated that the increase in gasoline prices was driven by temporary shutdown of oil refineries. Their functioning was suspended over the holidays due to the period of extreme cold. However, De Haan is quite sure that oil refineries will soon return to work at full capacity. Also, in his opinion, the price increase will slow down gradually as the season of rather low gasoline demand gets closer.

Meanwhile, average diesel prices continue to decline, which is generally a good sign for the economy.