2. Hypothesis
As gas prices
increase, U.S.
consumption of oil will
decrease due to a
lack of demand and
willingness to buy at
higher prices
We are looking for an
inverse relationship for
the two variables. That
is, as one goes up, the
other will go down.
3.
4. Meaning of the Data
The chart on the previous slide depicts how
gas prices rose at an average of 31.3 cents
per gallon in the six years between 2002 and
2007. Then, during the height of the Great
Recession, the yearly average gas price fell
roughly 92 cents per gallon.
Over the period between 2002 and 2009, the
average yearly price of gas was $2.32/gal
5.
6. Meaning of the Data
The previous slide shows that U.S. oil
consumption rose slightly between 2001
and 2004, and then was fairly steady until
2007
Since 2007 U.S. consumption dropped
sharply
The average yearly consumption over the
8 year span was 20.12 million barrels per
day
9. Comparing the Statistics Using
a Scatter Plot
Millions of
barrels of
oil per day
Price of Gas in $/gal
10. Conclusion & Findings
There seems to be no real connection between gas price, and U.S.
oil consumption
As gas prices rose between 2002 and 2004, oil consumption also
grew
Gas prices then continued to grow steadily between ‘04 and ‘08
as U.S. oil consumption leveled out in that same time
Then, when gas prices dropped significantly between 2008 and
2009, so did U.S. consumption
The initial incline in gas prices did not deter U.S. oil
consumption, and the subsequent fall in gas prices did not result in
higher consumption
Essentially, there is not an inverse relationship between gas prices
and oil consumption, as our initial hypothesis stated.
