Gasoline demand is being closely watched as a high-frequency proxy

Gasoline demand is being closely watched: Sevens Report Co-Editor, Tyler Richey, Quoted in MarketWatch

---

“Gasoline demand is being closely watched as a high-frequency proxy for consumer spending,” said Tyler Richey, co-editor at Sevens Report Research.

In late April, U.S. economic data had been “coming in with a whiff of stagflation and the plunge in consumer demand for fuel amplified those worries,” said Richey.

“Worries that we could see a similar drop off in economic activity amid the onset of the long-discussed post-COVID-stimulus recession were recently reignited by the combination of stagflationary economic data and the high frequency drop off in gasoline demand,” he said.

The nearly 8.8 million bpd “gasoline supplied” figure marked a rebound to top the four-week moving average of 8.53 million bpd, and it was above the 2024 average weekly rate of 8.57 million bpd, according to Richey.

Going forward, “keeping an eye on the weekly gasoline supplied figure as a proxy for consumer demand for gasoline will be critical, especially relative to its four-week moving average to gauge the underlying trend in fuel demand, and compared with prior year’s levels for the corresponding reporting week,” Richey said.

“If we see demand roll over again, expect recession fears to rise and volatility across asset classes pick up, including renewed pressure on oil prices now that the geopolitical fear bid has largely gone stale,” he said.

Also, click here to view the full MarketWatch article published on May 9th, 2024. However, to see the Sevens Report’s full comments on the current market environment sign up here.

---

If you want research that comes with no long term commitment, yet provides independent, value added, plain English analysis of complex macro topics, then begin your Sevens Report subscription today by clicking here.

To strengthen your market knowledge take a free trial of The Sevens Report.