AAA: Western PA Gas Prices Rise Slightly; National Average Not Swayed by Hurricane

AAA: Western PA Gas Prices Rise Slightly; National Average Not Swayed by Hurricane
The average price of gasoline across Western Pennsylvania increased three cents this week to $2.464 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                  $2.464
Average price during the week of August 3, 2020                                     $2.433
Average price during the week of August 12, 2019                                   $2.861

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

$2.493      Altoona
$2.450      Beaver
$2.477      Bradford
$2.470      Brookville
$2.451      Butler
$2.457      Clarion
$2.427      DuBois
$2.483      Erie
$2.399      Greensburg
$2.489      Indiana
$2.484      Jeannette
$2.467      Kittanning
$2.482      Latrobe
$2.490      Meadville
$2.504      Mercer
$2.412      New Castle
$2.486      New Kensington
$2.499      Oil City
$2.449      Pittsburgh

$2.420      Sharon
$2.492      Uniontown
$2.499      Warren
$2.400      Washington

Trend Analysis:
On the week, the national average is down a penny from last Monday to $2.17. Most states, aside from Utah (+9 cents), Michigan (+6 cents), and Kentucky (-4 cents), fluctuated no more than three cents.  The majority saw gas prices decrease minimally – by one to two cents, or had no change at the pump. Today’s average is two cents less than last month and 49 cents cheaper than a year ago, with August pricing out to be the second cheapest start to the month in more than a decade.

In the latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly report, gas demand fell from 8.8 million b/d to 8.6 million b/d while stocks held steady at 247 million barrels.

 

While Hurricane Isaias did not disrupt gas prices, the 2020 hurricane season is far from over. Last week the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) released the association’s annual August update, which revised the May forecast from 13 to 19 storms to 19-25 through the end of November. This year’s season could be one of the busiest as it has already produced a record-setting nine named storms. Major storms and hurricanes that take crude and gasoline infrastructure and refineries offline have the largest impact on gas prices.

 

One positive factor for this year, U.S. gasoline supply is plentiful sitting at a 17 million barrels year-over-year surplus. If a major storm or hurricane does hit the U.S., it will be a matter of short-term shortages and how quickly gasoline stocks can get to areas of need.

 

At the end of Friday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate decreased by 71 cents to settle at $41.22 per barrel. Domestic crude prices decreased last week due to a weak U.S. dollar and after EIA’s weekly report revealed that total domestic inventories decreased by 7.4 million barrels, bringing total domestic stocks to 518.6 million barrels. The decrease in total supply, amid low gasoline demand, could mean that the domestic crude market is rebalancing. Crude prices have the potential to stabilize this week if EIA’s report shows continued growth in demand alongside a reduction in supply.

Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at GasPrices.AAA.com.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 78 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Penns


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