CASPER, Wyo. — The national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline fell for a ninth consecutive week to $3.92 per gallon, down 9.9 cents from a week ago, according to price tracker GasBuddy.
GasBuddy data, compiled from more than 11 million individual price reports, shows the national average is down 63.7 cents from a month ago but remains 74.8 cents higher than a year ago. The national average price for diesel also fell, down 11 cents from last week, to $5.03 per gallon, GasBuddy reported.
AAA reported the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline at $3.95 per gallon, and placed Wyoming’s average higher at $4.11. Laramie County’s average price fell 12 cents from last week to $3.96 per gallon, according to AAA.
Natrona County had the state’s cheapest average at $3.35, followed by Campbell County at $3.58 per gallon, AAA reported. Two stations, one in Evansville and one in Casper, were reported to GasBuddy as having the cheapest fuel at $3.25 per gallon on Monday.
In Laramie County, the cheapest fuel on Monday, at $3.69 per gallon, was reported at Sam’s Club, 1948 Dell Range Blvd. That was followed by $3.79 at Big D, 2029 Dell Range Blvd., and $3.85 at Antelope Truck Stop in Burns.
“For the ninth week straight, gas prices have continued to fall, but the streak is at great risk of being broken this week with wholesale gasoline prices having bounced back up some 40 cents per gallon as oil prices have rebounded,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “That means the decline in average prices could wrap up soon, with some price increases possible as early as this week, especially in areas of the Great Lakes.”
“While the West Coast and some areas of the Rockies may see prices continue to drift lower, I do believe the national average could tick higher this week as the better-than-expected jobs report last week likely means less demand destruction than anticipated,” De Haan added.
Also included in the GasBuddy fuel report:
OIL PRICES
Heavy selling pressure hit oil markets early Monday as China economic data reported Sunday showed concerns over demand, as credit growth slowed amidst fresh Covid-19 flare-ups. A deepening property crisis was also causing jitters of a broader economic slowdown there, pushing oil prices down in early trade. West Texas Intermediate crude was last down $4.43 per barrel or 4.8%, to $87.66, roughly on par with last week’s open. Brent crude was down $4.64 per barrel or 4.7%, to $93.50, just above last Monday’s start. Also on the tip of the tongue was Iran’s possible deal, which it was planning to inform the EU of Monday night, which could see its oil exports ramp up in case of a broader nuclear deal, also pushing oil lower.According to Baker Hughes, last week’s U.S. rig count was down by 1 rig to 763, and was 262 rigs higher than a year ago. The Canadian rig count was down 2 rigs to 201, but was 37 rigs higher than a year ago.
OIL AND REFINED PRODUCTS
U.S. oil inventories saw a notable jump last week, climbing 5.5 million barrels, which are now slightly above last year, while the SPR fell 5.3 million barrels and is 25% lower than a year ago. Domestic oil production jumped 100,000 barrels to 12.2 million barrels, the highest since the pandemic hit in 2020. Gasoline inventories fell 5.0 million barrels and are now down 7 million barrels from their year ago level, while distillate inventories jumped 2.2 million barrels, but are down 21% from a year ago. Implied gasoline demand, a proxy for retail consumption, jumped 582,000bpd to 9.12 million barrels per day, while refinery utilization rose 3.3 percentage points. Total supply was down 45.6 million barrels from a year ago (3.6%), but including the SPR, are down nearly 11% from last year.FUEL DEMAND
According to GasBuddy demand data driven by its Pay with GasBuddy card, U.S. retail gasoline demand saw a slight decline last week (Sun-Sat), falling 1.6%. Broken down by PADD region, demand fell 1.1% in PADD 1, fell 1.2% in PADD 2, fell 3.6% in PADD 3, fell 1.7% in PADD 4 and fell 2.2% in PADD 5.GAS PRICE TRENDS
The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.59 per gallon, down 10 cents from last week, followed by $3.49, $3.69, $3.99 and $3.79 rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. gas price is $3.77 per gallon, down 10 cents from last week and about 12 cents lower than the national average.
The top 10% of stations in the country average $5.23 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.23 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average prices: Texas ($3.42), Oklahoma ($3.43) and Arkansas ($3.44).
The states with the highest average prices: Hawaii ($5.31), California ($5.31) and Nevada ($4.92). GasBuddy
