Gas prices in Bradford are trending lower, but still appear to be higher than the state average of $3.62 per gallon.
According to AAA East Central, Bradford’s average as of Tuesday was $3.765; Brookville, $3.498; DuBois, $3.669; Erie, $3.714; and in Warren, $3.785.
The national average price of diesel has fallen 1.4 cents in the last week and stands at $4.67 per gallon.
According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Pennsylvania was priced at $3.07 per gallon on Sunday while the most expensive was $4.19 per gallon, a difference of $1.12 per gallon.
The national average price of gasoline has risen 12.3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.17 per gallon as of Monday. The national average is down 22.5 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 9.5 cents per gallon lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data.
“For the first time in two months, the nation’s average price of gasoline rose sharply last week, as extremely cold weather led to many refinery issues, shutting down over a million barrels of refining capacity, pushing wholesale prices up,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “In addition, China’s reopening plans gave markets inspiration that global oil demand will start to recover, as China’s nearly three year Covid-zero policies appear to be coming to an end.
“While the jump at the pump will likely be temporary as most refiners get back online after cold-weather related issues, some regions like the Rockies may see more price increases than others as cold-weather shutdowns hit the region fairly hard, with one refinery likely remaining down through the first quarter of 2023,” De Haan said. “Most areas have seen the bulk of the rise already hit, but should oil continue to rally, more increases could be on the way.”
AAA data indicated that the late December winter storm and its frigid temperatures caused gas prices to spike, with refineries as far south as Texas and the Gulf Coast forced to shut down temporarily. The storm also caused holiday travelers to fuel up and hit the road early to beat the bad weather, leading to a spike in overall gas demand. The national average for a gallon of gas rose 12 cents over the last week to hit $3.22. This is 20 cents less than a month ago and six cents less than a year ago.
According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand rose from 8.7 to 9.3 million barrels per day last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks fell by 3 million barrels to 223 million barrels. More demand and less supply helped push pump prices higher.
At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, WTI increased by $1.86 to settle at $80.26. A weaker dollar contributed to rising crude prices. Crude prices rose despite the EIA reporting that total domestic commercial crude stocks increased by 800,000 barrels to 419 million barrels. The increase signals that oil demand may be weakening amid ongoing market concerns that a recession or economic slowdown could occur this year.
