While the average price of gasoline in Pennsylvania went up as the mercury sank, the price in Bradford stayed at an average of $3.596.
Gas prices are three cents higher in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.401 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report. The average price of gasoline in Brookville was $3.205, in DuBois, $3.273, in Erie, $3.239 and in Warren, $3.599.
“The national average for a gallon of gas has increased a penny over the past week to $3.07. A likely culprit is wintery weather, which hampers refining operations and gasoline distribution. This has resulted in some frigid regions seeing pump price jumps,” the report read.
Average gasoline prices in Pennsylvania have risen 1.4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.33 per gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 5,269 stations in Pennsylvania. Prices in Pennsylvania are 8.2 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 36.2 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 2.1 cents in the last week and stands at $3.87 per gallon.
According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Pennsylvania was priced at $2.58 per gallon Sunday while the most expensive was $4.49 per gallon, a difference of $1.91 per gallon.
“We continue to see gasoline prices bouncing off lows, only to re-test them again and again. While prices jumped in some places, it’s being offset by drops elsewhere, and that has kept alive the possibility of briefly seeing the national average fall to the lowest level since 2021,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “We remain just a nickel or so away from a $2.99 national average, and while the window of opportunity continues to slowly close, with refiners now starting the purge of winter gasoline on the West Coast, we still have a low-level chance of getting there. But make no mistake — if we do see a national average of $2.99 per gallon, it won’t last long as we start to turn the corner and get closer to the start of the transition to summer gasoline.”
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand remains robust after it took a slight step back from 8.33 to 8.27 million barrels per day last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks increased by 3.1 million barrels to 248.1 million barrels. Fluctuating oil prices, alongside robust demand, have pushed pump prices up, but price gains have been capped due to rising stock levels.
At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate increased by 16 cents to settle at $72.56. Oil prices rose after supply outages due to winter storms caused market concern about tight supply being able to meet demand. Additionally, the EIA reported that total domestic commercial crude stocks decreased by 2.5 million barrels to 429.9 million barrels.
