Gasoline demand is plunging as people are told to stay at home, with drivers kept off the road. In the US, sales at filling stations slumped 46.6% year-on-year during the week ended March 28. Official data showed that the gasoline supply at the market fell to its lowest since 1994. Retailers are taking less and less fuel as demand diminishes.
The demand decline accelerated as more states imposed the “stay at home” order. A California-based trade group last week reported that combined gasoline and diesel sales in urban areas dropped by 60% on March 1-27, while sales in farm markets declined 35%. Trade groups in Texas and Florida also reported about a 50% drop in big-city gasoline sales.
On Tuesday, the US Department of Energy expected about a 2.3 million barrel drop in gasoline demand for the second quarter, compared to the same period in 2019.
The collapse in US gasoline demand echoes that of Europe which imposes strict restrictions on people and goods movement. In Spain, gasoline demand tumbled 83% year-on-year during the week ended March 29. In late March, gasoline demand in the UK plunged 66%, compared to an average during January and February.
