The average price of gasoline across Western Pennsylvania is steady this week at $2.537 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.
The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas includes $2.597 in Bradford, $2.599 in Warren and $2.573 in DuBois.
Monday’s national gas price average is $2.18, which is the same price as last week, five cents lower than a month ago, and 47 cents cheaper than a year ago. On the week, most states saw gas prices decrease or fluctuate by a penny or two.
The latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) report measures demand at 8.52 million b/d, which is a slight uptick from the previous week’s 8.48 million b/d. However, the small increase is still 850,000 b/d lower than last year at this time. Low demand, even as gasoline inventory declines, has helped pump prices move lower or hold steady across the country. This is likely to continue into the fall as the season generally sees fewer road trips, especially during the pandemic. The low demand should translate to cheaper prices for motorists.
At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate decreased by six cents to settle at $40.25. Domestic crude prices declined due to increased market fears as coronavirus infections increase worldwide, which could impact crude demand. Before market fears emerged, there was some market optimism that domestic demand could be starting to stabilize after the EIA’s latest weekly report revealed that total domestic crude inventories decreased. Decreasing stocks could signal that supply and demand are rebalancing, while crude production decreased by 200,000 b/d to 10.7 million b/d.
