Western PA Gas Prices Hold Steady; Supply Outpaces Demand Nationwide
The average price of gasoline across Western Pennsylvania is steady this week at $2.473 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

Gas price fluctuation was low in most Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states this week. Delaware (+7 cent) and Maryland (+5 cents) saw the largest increases in the region and land on the top 10 list of states with the biggest changes, along with Connecticut (+4 cents) and Vermont (+3 cents).  Washington, D.C. (-1 cent) and West Virginia (-2 cents) were among a minority of states in the country to see gas prices push cheaper.

The region saw inventory levels plummet by nearly 3 million barrels. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) latest report measures total stock levels at 72.3 million barrels, which is still a healthy supply level for this time of year. While stocks could decrease further in the week ahead due to an unplanned shutdown at Phillips 66’s 265,000-b/d Bayway refinery in Linden, N.J., at the end of last week, this event has not had an immediate impact at the pump given the abnormally high level of inventory on hand.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                  $2.473
Average price during the week of July 6, 2020                                          $2.475
Average price during the week of July 15, 2019                                        $2.983

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

$2.484      Altoona
$2.478      Beaver
$2.497      Bradford
$2.482      Brookville
$2.458      Butler
$2.460      Clarion
$2.477      DuBois
$2.483      Erie
$2.437      Greensburg
$2.489      Indiana
$2.464      Jeannette
$2.468      Kittanning
$2.466      Latrobe
$2.490      Meadville
$2.504      Mercer
$2.420      New Castle
$2.494      New Kensington
$2.499      Oil City
$2.467      Pittsburgh
$2.489      Sharon
$2.469      Uniontown
$2.499      Warren
$2.397      Washington

On the National Front
Gasoline demand increased on the week to the highest level (8.7 million b/d) since March as stocks decreased, but the combination wasn’t enough to significantly impact gas price averages across the country. On the week, the national gas price average only increased one penny to land at $2.19. That is nine cents more than last month and nearly 60 cents less than a year ago.

EIA data show gasoline demand and supply have been on a roller coaster ride, largely as motorists react to unfolding COVID-19 information. From May to early July in 2019, gasoline demand averaged 9.5 million b/d. For the same time period this year, demand is measuring at 8 million b/d while gasoline stocks sit, on average, at a 24-million-barrel surplus. The low demand and high supply are keeping gas prices relatively cheap for the summertime.

At the end of Friday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate increased by 93 cents to settle at $40.55 per barrel. Domestic crude prices were volatile last week after the EIA’s weekly report revealed that total domestic crude inventories increased by 5.7 million barrels to 539.2 million. Increasing crude stocks could mean that crude production is still too high given where demand is currently.

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, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members.  News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com.  Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.