After falling by 13 cents last week, the average price of gasoline across Western Pennsylvania is another 13 cents cheaper this week at $2.229 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report. As pump prices continue to plummet across the country, prices in Western Pennsylvania are ending March a whopping 44 cents cheaper than at the beginning of the month.
On the week, 12 Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states saw gas prices push cheaper by at least a dime. These states saw the largest pump price decrease of 13 cents: Maine ($1.93), West Virginia ($1.96), New Hampshire ($2.04), Connecticut ($2.16) and Pennsylvania ($2.22).
Gasoline stocks decreased by 1.2 million barrels. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) measures total inventory for the region at 60 million barrels. However, regional refinery utilization bumped up 1% to 58%. Gas prices should continue to decrease across the region in the week ahead, with more states seeing their average fall below $2/gallon.
This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average $2.229
Average price during the week of March 23, 2020 $2.358
Average price during the week of April 1, 2019 $2.809
The Average price for a gallon of gas in Beaver County is $2.32.
On the National Front
At $2.01, the national gas price average is 11-cents cheaper on the week, 43-cents less expensive on the month and 68-cents less than a year ago. This week, AAA expects that the national gas average will drop below $2/gallon for the first time in four years, with the potential of falling even further in the weeks ahead.
Crude oil continues to price low as U.S. gasoline demand decreases to numbers typically seen during the winter driving season. In fact, there is an atypical amount of winter-blend gasoline supply still available, which has caused the Environmental Protection Agency to extend the sale of winter blend past the May 1 deadline to May 20. The agency said they will continue to monitor and, if necessary, extend the waiver again.
One of the key differences between summer- and winter-blend gasolines is how easily the fuel evaporates at a given temperature. The more volatile a gasoline, the easier it evaporates. Summer-blend gasoline has a lower volatility to prevent excessive evaporation when outside temperatures rise. It also has a higher cost of production, which is one of the reasons gas prices typically increase in the spring and summer months. Delaying the switch-over to summer-blend gasoline should prove to be another contributing factor to sustained lower gas prices.
While this delay and lower demand are major players in the precipitous drop in gas prices, the cost of crude oil continues to steal the show (crude accounts for more than 50 cents of every dollar spent at the pump). West Texas Intermediate continues to hover in the $20/barrel range, at times dipping into the teens. Prices continue to decline as the public health, financial, and economic impacts from COVID-19 continue to mount. Until these impacts subside and Russia and Saudi Arabia end their crude price war, the cost of a barrel of oil is likely to remain at lows not seen in nearly two decades.
Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at GasPrices.AAA.com.