Tausi Insider

A truck parks at a gas station in Frankfurt, Germany, on Oct. 13. Michael Probst/The Associated Press At a gas station outside New York City, retired probation officer Karen Stowe was faced with a pump price she didn’t want to pay. She bought groceries from the convenience store instead, planning to buy cheaper gas elsewhere. “The price is so high, people have to think very hard about where they’re driving to,” said Stowe, who had just been volunteering at a food pantry. “People are in trouble, and that’s the truth.” Though drivers in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere are getting a break from the sky-high gasoline prices they endured over the summer, the cost is still difficult for many who have been struggling with relentless inflation. The U.S. average was $3.19 per gallon, down from a record $5 in June, while European Union pump prices have dropped the equivalent of 55 cents, to $6.41 per gallon, since October. Drivers now hope the situation doesn’t get worse after a series of cutbac...

The reopening of China's economy after the country lifted COVID-19 restrictions will push global oil consumption up nearly 2 per cent to an unprecedented 101.7 million barrels a day, according to the International Energy Agency. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images World oil demand is forecast to hit a record high this year against a backdrop of constrained supply and a new warning from the United Nations Secretary-General that hope for staving off the worst effects of climate change is dimming. Crude consumption will climb by nearly 2 per cent to an unprecedented 101.7 million barrels a day, with the gain driven largely by the reopening of China’s economy following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said in its January oil market report. The Paris-based organization said demand would have been even higher, if not for the global improvements in energy efficiency and booming sales of electric vehicles. Those two factors have reduced the forec...