The price of gasoline may be going down, but locally, the cost per gallon is still over $4.
According to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report, the average price in Bradford is $4.310; Brookville, $4.095; DuBois, $4.219; Erie, $4.212; and Warren, $4.299.
GasBuddy reported that gasoline prices fell by 7.6 cents, averaging $4.21 per gallon on Monday. Prices in Pennsylvania are 37.5 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand at 93.6 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has declined 6.3 cents in the last week and stands at $4.97 per gallon.
According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Pennsylvania was priced at $3.55 per gallon Sunday while the most expensive was $5.19 per gallon, a difference of $1.64 per gallon.
The national average for a gallon of gas fell a nickel this past week to $3.90, AAA reported. Stable global oil prices and modest domestic demand for gasoline are pushing prices lower. Motorists are now benefiting from gas prices that are $1.11 less than their peak in mid-June. Monday’s national average was 74 cents more than a year ago.
“While some areas saw gas prices rise slightly last week, the national average saw yet another weekly decline, extending the streak to ten straight weeks. The pace of declines is certainly slowing down as oil prices have bounced up slightly, but the West Coast and Northeastern U.S. are areas that still may see gas prices decline, while the South and Midwest see the drop fade and potentially slight increases,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “In addition to falling gasoline prices, the average price of diesel has fallen below $5 per gallon for the first time since March, likely helping to cool off aggressive inflation numbers. Thus far, Mother Nature has spared us from disruptions from hurricanes, but that remains a wildcard as we head into the peak of hurricane season.”
According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand rose slightly from 9.12 million barrels per day to 9.35 million barrels per day last week, which is nearly identical to this time last year. Total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by nearly 5 million barrels to 215.7 million barrels. Although gasoline demand has risen and supplies have tightened, easing oil prices have helped lower pump prices.
At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate increased by 27 cents to settle at $90.77. Crude prices increased at the end of the week due to EIA reporting that total domestic crude supply decreased by 7 million barrels to 425 million barrels. Crude prices declined earlier in the week after U.S. housing data showed that homebuilding dropped to its lowest level in 1.5 years in July. Lower housing demand also pushed oil demand expectations lower.
