Summer Gas Prices Hold Steady
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Barely budging since June, the national average for a gallon of gas squeaked out a 2 cent increase to $3.52 since last week, according to AAA's latest report.
The national average has hovered around $3.50 per gallon since June 26.
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"Some of the uptick in gasoline prices may be due to a reported storm-related outage at the ExxonMobil refinery in Joliet, Ill. That's contributing to higher pump prices in the upper Midwest," said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. "Meanwhile, oil prices have fallen quite a bit lately. In April, a barrel of oil was in the upper $80s, but today, it is $10 a barrel cheaper. That might mitigate any upward pressure on pump prices."
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand rose from 8.78 million b/d to 9.45 million b/d last week, while total domestic gasoline stocks fell from 233 million barrels to 227.4 million barrels. Gasoline production rose last week, averaging 10.2 million barrels per day.
AAA stated it believes that while summer travel is keeping gasoline demand high, lower oil costs will likely keep pump prices relatively stable for now.
Today's national average is $3.52, 6 cents more than a month ago but 11 cents less than a year ago.
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Since July 18, these 10 states have seen the largest weekly changes in their averages: Michigan (+28 cents), Illinois (+23 cents), Wisconsin (+17 cents), Indiana (+16 cents), Ohio (+10 cents), Nevada (-7 cents), California (-7 cents), Delaware (-6 cents), Kentucky (+5 cents) and Tennessee (-5 cents).
The nation's top 10 least expensive markets are Mississippi ($2.98), Louisiana ($3.07), Tennessee ($3.09), Arkansas ($3.12), Oklahoma ($3.13), Texas ($3.13), Alabama ($3.15), Kansas ($3.16), Missouri ($3.20) and South Carolina ($3.21).
At the close of the formal trading session on July 24, West Texas Intermediate oil prices rose 63 cents to settle at $77.59 a barrel. The EIA reports that crude oil inventories decreased by 3.7 million barrels from the previous week. At 436.5 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 5% below the five-year average for this time of year.