High Gas Prices Drive Fuel Demand to Record Highs Ahead of Peak Driving Season

Gasoline prices are so high that demand for fuel during the peak driving season this summer is set to plummet, experts say.

According to Energy Information Administration data compiled by Bloomberg, gas demand fell to its lowest level during this period since 2013, excluding the impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Overall, high gasoline prices reduced demand by 5%.

Gasoline prices have hit new records for the past 11 straight days amid the energy supply crisis in the United States, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), which noted that the stretch record prices at the pump is “unprecedented”.

Speaking to Fox News Digital, Andrew Gross, national spokesperson for AAA Inc. revealed that drivers should expect high prices throughout the summer, especially if the war in Ukraine is raging. .

The national average for a gallon of gasoline was $4.59 last week, a slight increase from the previous day and a new record high.

Thursday’s record was 16 cents higher than the previous week, nearly 50 cents higher than the previous month and $1.55 higher than the same period last year.

All 50 states had national retail prices above $4 a gallon on Thursday, according to AAA, with Oklahoma offering the cheapest gas at $4.03 a gallon and California offering the most expensive gas at an average of $6. $.06. According to the association, tighter supply and increased demand have pushed gasoline prices higher.

“Demand is up,” Gross told Fox News Digital when explaining what’s contributing to the high prices.

“Typically at this time of year we’re in a bit of a lull. There’s often a lull in demand between Spring Break and Memorial Day and we had a bit of that about two weeks ago, but last week, … there was actually an increase, which is very unusual, I don’t think I’ve seen that before.

Biden last month announced that the Environmental Protection Agency will allow the sale of E15 gasoline – gasoline that uses a 15% blend of ethanol – across the country this summer. Biden also decided to release 1 million barrels of oil per day from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the next 6 months. The president is also asking Congress to make companies pay royalties on unused oil wells and non-producing acres of federal land, in an effort to encourage new production.

Gross noted that the actions taken by the administration will help “a little.”

“Driving habits haven’t seemed to change, so that’s something to watch over the next few weeks and months,” he added. “With these higher prices, when will people decide I’m going to stay home or go cycling.”

“It’s really an interesting time right now,” he said.

“I think a lot of people are probably looking at electric vehicles a lot more seriously now,” Gross added.

FOX Business contributed to this story.