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Californians Bucked Trend, Consuming Less Gas, Says Report

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Although gas was about 40-cents cheaper the year before, gasoline demand last October declined 0.4 percent when Californians used 1.246 billion gallons of gasoline compared to 1.252 billion gallons the same month in 2008, according to a state report released today. That percentage difference means about a $27 million difference in taxes collected by the state. "The October decrease in consumption is the first decline in six months," said the California State Board of Equalization. "The previous five months showed small increases in consumption when compared to last year." Use of Diesel, which generally follows economic activity during a recession, was down by 11.1%.

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