Gas prices are dropping, with average prices in Pennsylvania coming down 10.4 cents and in the nation, 15.8 cents per gallon, according to GasBuddy.
Bradford’s average price is $4.738, Brookville’s price is $4.712, the average in DuBois is $4.674, in Erie is $4.705 and in Warren is $4.737, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.
The average price in Pennsylvania is $4.67 per gallon, and in the nation is $4.51 per gallon. Prices in Pennsylvania are 34.7 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand $1.42 per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has declined 10.8 cents in the last week and stands at $5.54 per gallon, according to GasBuddy price reports.
Those reports indicated that the cheapest station in Pennsylvania on Sunday was priced at $3.99 per gallon, while the most expensive was $5.79 per gallon, a difference of $1.80.
“We’ve seen the national average price of gasoline decline for a fifth straight week, with the pace of recent declines accelerating to some of the most significant we’ve seen in years,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “This trend is likely to reach a sixth straight week, with prices likely to fall again this week.
“Barring major hurricanes, outages or unexpected disruptions, I forecast the national average to fall to $3.99/gal by mid-August. So far, we’ve seen the national average drop for 34 straight days, with over 25,000 stations now back at $3.99 per gallon or less, and thousands more stations will join this week,” he continued. “In addition, we will see several states fall back under an average of $4, the majority being in the south, but that could spread to more states in the weeks ahead.”
Today’s national average is 46 cents less than a month ago and $1.36 more than a year ago. The recent price decline is due to lower domestic demand for gasoline at the pump and a much lower global price for oil. The cost of a barrel of oil is around $100, down from $110 two weeks ago, according to AAA East Central.
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand dropped from 9.41 million barrels per day to 8.06 million barrels per day last week, while total domestic gas stocks increased by 5.8 million barrels. The decrease in demand and declining oil prices have helped push pump prices down.
Crude prices increased slightly at the end of the week due to the market expecting crude supply to remain tight throughout summer. Tightening of supply is being driven by the potential for slower economic growth due to rising interest rates and inflation. Declining crude demand, due to reduced economic activity, could lead prices to follow suit.
