Traffic on the Long Island Expressway in New York City
Lower oil prices fuel US driving season
US gasoline consumption is at its highest level since before COVID, but while stocks remain healthy, the hurricane season threatens
After peaking at the end of the last decade, US gasoline demand has rebounded in the post-COVID era. In 2025, low oil prices are likely to support gasoline consumption despite tariffs impacting new car sales and squeezed disposable incomes. Transportation fuel supply and stocks remain ample, although meteorologists are expecting a busy hurricane season, which could mean disruptions. Overall conditions look favourable for US motorists at the start of the driving season. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), 45.1m Americans were expected to travel for Memorial Day weekend 2025, a significant increase of 1.4m travellers compared with last year. 39.4m – Travellers over Me
Also in this section
9 March 2026
Petroleum Economist analysis sees increases in output from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Kazakhstan among others before region’s murky descent
9 March 2026
Energy sanctions are becoming an increasingly prominent tool of US foreign policy, with the country’s growth in oil and gas production allowing it to impose pressure on rivals without jeopardising its own energy security or that of its allies, argues Matthew McManus, a visiting fellow at the National Center for Energy Analytics
6 March 2026
The March 2026 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!
6 March 2026
After Europe’s rapid buildout of floating LNG import capacity, Exmar CEO Carl-Antoine Saverys says future growth in floating gas infrastructure will increasingly be driven by developing markets as lower prices, rising energy demand and the need to replace coal unlock new opportunities for unconventional and tailor-made solutions
