Peak Gasoline Heralds Price Shocks for Drivers, Inflation Headaches
Americans are facing the threat of more production crunches and price spikes as the fuel industry risks moving on from gasoline more quickly than consumers.
A customer refuels at a gas station in San Francisco, California.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergGasoline demand in the US has peaked, with a surprise slowdown last year signaling that consumption is unlikely to ever again return to pre-Covid levels.
This long-awaited milestone shows that climate-friendly initiatives put into place more than a decade ago are finally taking the US across the threshold. American drivers are traveling more miles on less fuel than ever thanks to a generation of cars with more efficient engines as well as new electric vehicles. The government forecasts further declines for gasoline demand this year and next.