Snow Bomb May Clear Roads for Now, But Won't Crimp Fuel Use Much

(Bloomberg) -- The nor'easter dumping snow across the U.S. East Coast this week may trigger a short-lived dip in gasoline demand as commuters stay home.

But winter fuel use isn't likely to be dented much as the vehicles that do hit the roads idle longer and power outages send shivering residents to gasoline or diesel generators to heat their homes,  said Dan McTeague, a Toronto-based analyst with GasBuddy.com, which monitors pump prices. Average U.S. gasoline demand fell 8.8 percent last week in the first decline since November, government data show.

“Short of blizzards where people are actually stuck, cold weather doesn't prevent people from driving,” McTeague said. “What it does do is cause more consumption.”

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