Gas prices are two cents lower in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.502 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                         $3.502
Average price during the week of Sept. 16, 2024                                              $3.521
Average price during the week of Sept. 25, 2023                                              $3.941

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:      

$3.422      Altoona
$3.579      Beaver
$3.780      Bradford
$3.394      Brookville
$3.545      Butler
$3.408      Clarion
$3.338      DuBois
$3.454      Erie
$3.522      Greensburg
$3.464      Indiana
$3.555      Jeannette
$3.639      Kittanning
$3.481      Latrobe
$3.484      Meadville
$3.711      Mercer
$3.401      New Castle
$3.404      New Kensington
$3.499      Oil City
$3.499      Pittsburgh
$3.323      Sharon
$3.580      Uniontown
$3.758      Warren
$3.310      Washington

Trend Analysis:
The national average for a gallon of gas has remained stable over the past week at $3.20. Gas prices have been relatively steady lately due to lower demand and lower oil prices. There are now 14 states with averages below $3 a gallon. Today’s national average is 17 cents less than a month ago and 65 cents less than a year ago.

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand increased slightly last week from 8.47 million barrels per day to 8.77. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks remained flat at 221.6 million barrels, while gasoline production increased last week, averaging 9.7 million barrels per day.

At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate fell by 28 cents to settle at $70.91 a barrel. The EIA reports that crude oil inventories decreased by 1.6 million barrels from the previous week. At 417.5 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 4% below the five-year average for this time of year.