The Shadow
RICHMOND — As crude oil prices trend close to $30/bbl, Americans are seeing pump prices drop across the country.
On the week, gas price averages in 35 states decreased by double-digits, pushing the national average to $2.25, the cheapest price point of the year.
“The national gas price average is 13 cents cheaper on the week and nearly 20 cents less than the beginning of the month. These are significant decreases in just 7 and 16 days,” said Jeanette Casselano, AAA spokeswoman.
“AAA expects gas prices to continue trending cheaper, with the high likelihood of the national average hitting $2/gallon before the end of March.”
During this uncertain time of COVID-19, gas prices are declining despite increasing gasoline demand and decreasing U.S. stock levels.
The nation’s 10 largest weekly decreases were in: Ohio (-27 cents), Kentucky (-21 cents), Michigan (-21 cents), Wisconsin (-21 cents), Indiana (-19 cents), Illinois (-19 cents), Oklahoma (-15 cents), Iowa (-15 cents), Maine (-15 cents) and Minnesota (-15 cents).
The nation’s 10 least expensive markets are: Oklahoma ($1.92), Texas ($1.96), Mississippi ($1.96), South Carolina ($1.97), Ohio ($1.97), Indiana ($1.97), Missouri ($1.98), Kentucky ($1.99), Louisiana ($2) and Alabama ($2).
On the week, motorists in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast region saw average declines of 6 to 15 cents. Maine ($2.21) saw the biggest weekly difference of any state in the region.
State gas price averages are $2.50 or less for every state in the region. New York ($2.48), Washington, D.C. ($2.47) and Pennsylvania ($2.46) carry the highest averages in the region while North Carolina ($2.07) and Virginia ($2.06) have the cheapest regional averages.
Gasoline stocks built by 400,000 bbl, bumping total regional stock levels to nearly 64 million bbl.
More positive news for the region was revealed in EIA’s latest report: refinery utilization increased for the first time since early January, up almost three percentage points to nearly 59 percent.
In the coming week, regional gas prices are likely to follow the national trend of pushing cheaper.
At the close of Friday’s formal trading session on the NYMEX, WTI increased by 23 cents to settle at $31.73.
Fears about COVID-19 and the crude price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia pushed crude prices lower last week.
After President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. Department of Energy would purchase oil to top off the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, crude prices rallied briefly.
However, the announcement is unlikely to help increase crude prices further since the limited number of barrels the U.S. could purchase is small when compared to the dramatic reduction in global crude demand as a result of reduced economic activity due to COVID-19. Moving into this week, crude prices are likely to continue decreasing as the world grapples with how to contain the ongoing international public health crisis and associated economic challenges that could lead to a global recession. Until the price war ends and fears about COVID-19 subside, domestic crude prices are likely to remain low.
