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Pastimes : The Justa & Lars Honors Bob Brinker Investment Club -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Justa Werkenstiff who wrote (14444)	6/14/2000 4:25:00 PM
From: Justa Werkenstiff	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 15132

US drivers rev up the miles despite gasoline spike By Richard Valdmanis NEW YORK, June 14 (Reuters) - Motorists in the United States may not be happy about soaring gasoline prices, but instead of staying off the roads, they are clocking up even more miles, industry watchdogs said on Wednesday. "We did a survey this spring in which 48 percent of drivers said they'd curb their travel if prices went above $1.50 a gallon," said Geoff Sundstrom, spokesman for the American Automobile Association (AAA). "But travel is apparently still running ahead of last year," he said. U.S. drivers burnt a hefty 8.6 million barrels of gasoline a day on average in May, even before the summer driving season hit top speed, according data released industry body the American Petroleum Institute (API). That is nearly 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) more than the same time last year, despite the fact motorists in some cities have had to shell out as much as $2 for a gallon, or 50 cents a gallon more, to fuel their cars. GAS GUZZLERS The continued healthy demand for gasoline, attributed to the strong economy and partly to the American love affair with larger and larger gas-guzzling vehicles, conflicts with what nearly half of U.S. drivers have said in recent surveys. Daily newspaper USA Today reported that nearly half of U.S. drivers surveyed last week said they had crimped their summer driving plans. Consumption figures show that the reality is quite different, analysts say. "Classically speaking, when prices go up you'd see a drop off in demand," said Aaron Brady, oil analyst for Boston-based Energy Security Analysis Inc. (ESAI). "But that doesn't seem to be the case yet. The economy is good, and in most parts of the country people have no choice but to drive in order to get around." The national average price for retail gasoline was a record $1.60 a gallon on Wednesday, 47 cents higher than a year ago, with several major cities in the Midwest seeing prices spill over $2 a gallon, according to AAA. The soaring pump prices are attributed to a national supply crunch caused in part by new summer anti-smog regulations, and lofty crude oil prices which are zipping along at around $33 a barrel. "People are clearly upset by the surging prices," said the AAA's Sundstrom. "But there's no indication yet that the sentiment is in fact causing people to drive less." STRANGE WAYS Strangely, some drivers are driving more as a result of the high gasoline prices, according to industry groups. Seeking to get around the rising prices, motorists are reportedly driving farther off the beaten path to find deals, particularly in the Midwest where pump prices can change as much as 30 cents from county to county due to regional enforcement of the anti-smog rules. In downtown Chicago, for example, regular gasoline averages $2.11 a gallon, while outside the city limits, where dirtier conventional gasoline is allowed, the price is as low as $1.75 a gallon. Even as drivers throw their hands up at the sight of $2 gasoline, analysts say prices remain moderate when adjusted for inflation -- another possible reason that driving shows no signs yet of slowing. "While it is always a surprise when prices jump up, in real terms they aren't really that high," said ESAI's Brady. "They're still lower, when adjusted for inflation, than they were in the early 80's." 16:05 06-14-00