by Calculated Risk on 12/09/2008 06:28:00 PM

From Bloomberg: U.S. Gasoline Demand Up First Time Since April, MasterCard Says (hat tip Travis)

U.S. gasoline demand rose last week for the first time since April as prices at the pump fell further ... Motorists bought an average 9.331 million barrels of gasoline a day in the week ended Dec. 5, up from 9.302 million a year earlier, MasterCard, the second-biggest credit-card company, said in its weekly SpendingPulse report.
...
“The price relief seems to have had a meaningful steady impact on demand,” said Michael McNamara, vice president of research and analysis for MasterCard Advisors.

This weekend I speculated (among other things) that lower gasoline prices would have a larger impact on miles driven than unemployment and the weaker economy. This evidence suggests that that might be correct.

The miles driven data from the DOT (for October) will be released in about 10 days.