High gas prices are forcing Americans to rethink how they get around.
The Energy Department said that $4 per gallon gas will lead to a drop in domestic gasoline consumption this year. That won’t be enough to immediately lower pump prices, according to a Lehman Brothers analyst who spoke to the New York Times.
“In the past, high prices could be offset by borrowing or making more money,” said Adam Robinson, an analyst at Lehman. “It’s really when you have the triple bite — a weaker economy, less access to credit, and higher prices — that you see the consumer recoil.”
The Energy Department projected domestic petroleum consumption would drop by 190,000 barrels per day this year.
