U.S. to continue conserving gas as prices fall

By Ayesha Rascoe - Analysis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American drivers faced with $4 gasoline have embraced conservation and consumers are unlikely to easily return to their old gas-guzzling ways now that pump prices are retreating from record levels.

As U.S. gasoline prices burst above $4 a gallon this summer, U.S. gasoline demand staged its biggest drop in more than a quarter of a century.

But even with gasoline prices falling to their lowest level in 16 weeks to average $3.69 a gallon on Monday, Americans will continue to ride public transportation and buy more fuel-efficient cars.

"There was a period when SUVs were a kind of status symbol and everyone in the suburbs wanted one," said James Hamilton, an economics professor at the University of California at San Diego. "I think that has really changed. I think there are a lot of people kind of embarrassed socially now with the kind of car they have."

U.S. motorists drove 12.2 billion fewer miles in June compared with a year earlier, while gasoline demand shrank by an average 800,000 barrels a day during the first half of this year, the biggest decline since 1982, because of soaring pump prices and a weak economy.

In the 1990s the price of gasoline seemed cheap to consumers as incomes rose. But, when gasoline began its steep climb this year, Americans could no longer ignore the cost.

In July, U.S. auto sales fell to a 16-year low as Americans turned away from fuel-intensive SUVs and pickup trucks. In a reversal of the past decade, cars sales outpaced truck sales at a ratio of 55 percent to 45 percent.

The move toward more fuel-efficient cars will have an enduring impact on U.S. gasoline demand, Energy Information Administration head Guy Caruso told reporters this week. The EIA is forecasting for the first time that gasoline demand will continue to decline in the long term.