Gas prices were unchanged for a second consecutive week and petroleum analysts foresee no increases in the near term.
Domestic gasoline demand and the cost of oil remained steady. AAA East Central said average prices throughout Western Pennsylvania decreased just 1 cent to $3.845 per gallon. In Bradford, it was $3.898; in Brookville, $3.764; in DuBois, $3.809; in Erie, $3.868; and in Warren, $3.899.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy said, “With more confidence every day, it appears the spring top is in; average gas prices have started to cool off in many areas. For now, few Americans need to worry that gas prices are going to skyrocket; the risk appears to be behind us, with relief coming in the weeks ahead.”
Overall in Pennsylvania, the average price decreased 1.6 cents during the last week, averaging $3.79 per gallon Monday. That’s 16.5 cents higher than a month ago and 7.3 cents more than a year ago.
GasBuddy reported the cheapest station in Pennsylvania was priced at $3.27 per gallon Sunday while the most expensive was $4.59 per gallon, a difference of $1.32.
Monday’s national average price for regular gasoline, according to AAA East Central, was $3.65 — an increase of 12 cents from last month and 4 cents higher than last year. For diesel, the national average fell 2.9 cents during the last week to dip below the $4 mark, at $3.98 per gallon.
“While the latter half of the summer could potentially see hurricane-related issues, I do sense we’ve hit the top for now, and Americans should be optimistic that this summer will be very similar to last year, in line with our early 2024 expectations and likely not featuring record gasoline prices. I’m quite excited the seasonal rise in gas prices appears to be over,” De Haan said.
On April 29 during the last 10-year period, 2022 once again recorded the highest price per gallon at $4.31 in Pennsylvania and $4.16 nationally. Gas was less than $2 per gallon in 2020, running $1.98 per gallon in the commonwealth and $1.75 nationally.
According to the latest from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand fell from 8.66 to 8.42 million barrels per day last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 0.6 million barrels to 226.7 million barrels.
At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate decreased by 55 cents to settle at $82.81. Oil prices dipped despite the EIA reporting crude oil inventories fell by 6.4 million barrels from the previous week. At 454 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are 4% below the five-year average for this time of year.
