For the third straight week, average gasoline prices have moved lower, falling 2.8 cents to $2.888 per gallon today according to GasBuddy’s survey of 135,000 gas stations, incorporating over one million price reports daily. 47 of the nation’s 50 states saw average gas prices decline. The unlucky three that saw prices rise were Michigan, Indiana,and Vermont.
“Average gas prices in the U.S. have fallen to their lowest in a month, following oil’s continued slump as OPEC appears poised to adjust oil production levels and the U.S. nears its hitting 11 million barrels of oil pumped per day, the highest level ever,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. “Oil bulls may see their day again this summer, but the prospects of higher oil supply have diminished the value of oil for the time being, and that’s leading to what nearly every American has been rooting for as of late- lower gas prices. While many are still bitter over having to pay more than last year, prices certainly could have moved higher if there hadn’t been pressure on OPEC to act now that the (previous) glut of crude oil has been absorbed into the market. We see gas prices falling slightly into late June or early July before odds rise of hurricane season leading to some volatility at the pump, which could lead prices higher short term.”
Oil prices buckled under pressure late last week as worries mounted about a prolonged trade war with China that could cool the global economy. In addition, U.S. oil production rose to a new all-time high of 10.9 million barrels per day, nearing output from Russia, currently the world’s largest oil producer. The U.S. may wrestle that title away from Russia by July 4 as U.S. output continues to rise. A barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 20 cents per barrel to $65.26 in early trading after sinking to $64 on Friday.
Data from the Energy Information Administration last week failed to push markets to a higher course after showing a drop in crude oil, gasoline, and distillate inventories. Refinery utilization, an indicator on whether refiners are keeping up with demand, rose to 95.7%, up 0.3% from the previous week. Utilization rates over 93% are generally adequate enough to keep up with summer demand. Implied gasoline demand also lurched higher again, jumping to nearly 9.9 million barrels per day, showing that high prices aren’t curtailing demand.
Largest weekly price changes: Ohio (-8 cents), Delaware (-6 cents), Indiana (+5 cents), Florida (-4 cents), New Mexico (-4 cents), Virginia (-4 cents), Michigan (+4 cents), Mississippi (-4 cents), Maryland (-4 cents), and Nebraska (-4 cents).
Lowest average gas prices: South Carolina ($2.54), Mississippi ($2.56), Alabama ($2.58), Louisiana ($2.61), Oklahoma ($2.62), Tennessee ($2.63), Arkansas ($2.63), Missouri ($2.63), Virginia ($2.66), and Kansas ($2.69).
Highest average gas prices: California ($3.70), Hawaii ($3.67), Washington ($3.44), Alaska ($3.41), Nevada ($3.40), Oregon ($3.30), Utah ($3.21), Idaho ($3.18), Connecticut ($3.13), and Arizona ($3.12).
Gas prices are poised to decline in much of the country again in the coming week, though OPEC will be meeting June 22 and any change in prior production cuts could affect prices next week. GasBuddy will be covering any decision made by OPEC and the possible implications on gas prices.
