Gas Consumption Strong Despite High Prices

WASHINGTON - High gasoline prices may dent economic growth, but consumers' fuel appetite is still strong. Those trends are likely to persist, experts said, as average nationwide pump prices approach $3 a gallon - a threshold once feared to be disastrous for motorists and potentially the economy.

Citigroup Smith Barney senior economist Steven Wieting said the conventional wisdom that $3-a-gallon was some kind of tipping point "has been largely overstated."

Sonja Hubbard, chief executive of E-Z Mart Stores Inc., which owns 319 gasoline stations across Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas, said, much to her surprise, gasoline sales continue to rise. But she noted negative …