California gasoline demand down again -tax board
Tue Oct 9, 2007 11:24pm BST
HOUSTON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - California's gasoline consumption slid 0.6 percent in the second quarter of 2007 from a year earlier, the fifth quarterly decline in a row, the state tax board said on Tuesday.
"They're saying $3.00 gasoline is cutting into demand," said David Hackett, president of Stillwater Associates LLC, a California energy consulting firm. "There is some price elasticity in gasoline after all."
In the second quarter of 2007, the state's average gasoline price was $3.384 per gallon, 21 cents above the second quarter of 2006.
The tax board, officially called the Board of Equalization, said consumption fell 1.6 percent in June 2007 from June 2006.
"Californians still use a lot of gasoline, but this drop in consumption certainly points to a downward trend," said board Chairwoman Betty Yee, in a statement.
Annual calendar-year gasoline consumption peaked in 2005, according to the tax board, at 15.94 billion gallons or 379.5 million barrels. In 2006, gasoline demand was 15.83 billion gallons or 377 million barrels.
Second-quarter 2007 gasoline consumption was 3.95 billion gallons compared to 3.97 billion gallons in 2006.
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