Gas prices have come down nine cents a gallon in the past week, averaging $4.573 per gallon in Bradford.
“We continue to see average gas prices falling in every state, with the national average down for the seventh straight week,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
“Even better, nearly 20 states have also seen their average decline to $3.99 or less, with over 70,000 stations now at that level or below,” he continued. “The outlook is for a continued drop in most areas, however, some supply tightness in areas of the Northeastern U.S. could push prices up slightly until inventories rise, or imports do. For now, Americans are seeing prices nearly 90 cents lower than their mid-June peak and are spending close to $330 million less on gasoline every day as a result. As long as oil prices hold at these levels or lower, we’ll see another decline in most areas this week.”
The average in Brookville was $4.422, in DuBois, $4.477; in Erie, $4.460; and in Warren, $4.558, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.
According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Pennsylvania was priced at $3.99 per gallon Sunday while the most expensive was $5.64 per gallon, a difference of $1.65 a gallon.
The national average price of gasoline has fallen 15.9 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $4.17 per gallon on Monday. The national average is down 65.5 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands $1.02 a gallon higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand increased from 8.52 million barrels per day to 9.25 million barrels per day last week. The estimated rate is 80,000 barrels per day lower than last year, but it could slow pump price decreases if the trend holds. Additionally, total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 3.3 million barrels to 225.1 million barrels, signaling that higher demand reduced inventory last week.
New survey data from AAA found that drivers are making significant changes to cope with high pump prices. Almost two-thirds (64%) of U.S. adults changed their driving habits or lifestyle since March, with 23% making “major changes.” Drivers’ top three changes to offset high gas prices are driving less, combining errands, and reducing shopping or dining out.
