U.S. gasoline demand fell 0.8 percent last week from the previous week, as prices rose to just under $4 a gallon, MasterCard said in its weekly Spending Pulse report on Tuesday.
Gasoline demand in the week to April 6 fell 2.4 percent compared with the same week last year, MasterCard said.
A gallon of gasoline cost $3.94 at the pump last week, 2 cents higher than the previous week. This was 5.9 percent more expensive than a year earlier.
The U.S. department of energy projects retail gasoline prices will peak in May at an average $4.01 a gallon.
Government data on Monday showed retail prices declined slightly for the week which ended April 9, for the first time in more than two months. Prices declined to $3.939, from $3.941 in the previous week.
MasterCard data also showed the four-week moving average for demand dropped for the 55th straight week, down 4.7 percent from a year earlier.
MasterCard Advisors, a unit of MasterCard Inc, estimates retail gasoline demand based on aggregate sales in the MasterCard payments system coupled with estimates for other payment forms including cash and checks.
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