Shhh — maybe no one else knows that Bradford’s gas prices are currently about a dime under the region’s average? Forget we mentioned it and maybe it will continue?
On Monday, AAA East Central said gas prices in Western Pennsylvania are at $3.875 per gallon, while the national average is $3.89, according to GasBuddy.
In Brookville, the average price was $3.876; in DuBois, $3.968; in Erie, $3.960; and in Warren, $3.999.
Prices in Pennsylvania are 19.9 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 31.4 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has risen 2.1 cents in the last week and stands at $4.297 per gallon.
According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Pennsylvania was priced at $3.45 per gallon Sunday while the most expensive was $4.38 per gallon, a difference of 93 cents per gallon.
“The national average price of gasoline eked out a small decline over the last week, with some states seeing a drop of 5 to 10 cents per gallon, while new issues in some states, like Arizona, have caused prices to jump notably in others,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “With California facing a deluge of water from Tropical Storm Hilary, some level of refinery problems that could impact gasoline prices could arise, and with eyes on a more active Atlantic, the next few weeks will bring additional volatility to what motorists can expect at the pump.”
The potential for hurricane development and forecasts of an expanding heat dome over Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas may cause refineries in these states to curb production because of the sizzling temperatures, AAA said.
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand slid from 9.30 to 8.85 million barrels per day last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks slightly decreased from 216.4 to 216.2 million barrels. Although demand has fallen, fluctuating oil prices have kept pump prices elevated.
At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate decreased by $1.61 to settle at $79.38. Oil prices declined amid ongoing concern that if interest rates continue to increase, the economy could tip into a recession. Additionally, the EIA reported that total domestic commercial crude inventories decreased from 445.6 to 439.7 million barrels.
