U.S. gasoline demand down from last year: MasterCard

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. retail gasoline demand last week declined from its year-earlier level for the fifth straight week, although demand was up slightly from the previous week, MasterCard Advisors said Tuesday.

"Apparently, American consumers are cutting back on driving," said Michael McNamara, vice president of MasterCard Advisors.

American motorists pumped 9.056 million barrels per day on average in the week that ended February 23, up 0.2 percent from the previous week, according to MasterCard's weekly SpendingPulse report.

But demand for retail gasoline decreased 3.8 percent compared to the same week last year. The four-week average, usually indicative of long-term trends, also showed gasoline demand down 2.7 percent from last year.

Average retail gasoline prices jumped 10 cents last week to $3.07.

"Fundamentally, from the demand side of the equation, it doesn't seem to be supporting the price increase," said McNamara. "Maybe we'll see some price relief in the next couple weeks if demand trends continue."

MasterCard Advisors estimates retail gasoline demand based on aggregate sales activity in the MasterCard payments system coupled with estimates for all other payment forms. MasterCard Advisors is a unit of MasterCard Inc.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration will release its report on nationwide fuel inventories on Wednesday and energy analysts anticipate the report will show a slight build in gasoline stocks for the sixteenth rise in a row.

(Reporting by Rebekah Kebede; Editing by David Gregorio)