Western PA Gas Prices Stable; National Average at Cheapest Start to October in Four Years

AAA: Western PA Gas Prices Stable; National Average at Cheapest Start to October in Four Years
The average price of gasoline across Western Pennsylvania is steady again this week at $2.539 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                  $2.539
Average price during the week of September 28, 2020                             $2.537
Average price during the week of October 7, 2019                                    $2.829

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

$2.551      Altoona
$2.595      Beaver
$2.582      Bradford
$2.603      Brookville
$2.482      Butler
$2.487      Clarion
$2.565      DuBois
$2.592      Erie
$2.497      Greensburg
$2.574      Indiana
$2.284      Jeannette
$2.578      Kittanning
$2.558      Latrobe
$2.586      Meadville
$2.587      Mercer
$2.414      New Castle
$2.576      New Kensington
$2.599      Oil City
$2.521      Pittsburgh

$2.526      Sharon
$2.606      Uniontown
$2.599      Warren
$2.444      Washington

Trend Analysis:
At $2.18, the national gas price average is at the cheapest start to the month of October since 2016. That average is the same as a week ago, four cents cheaper than the start of this past September, and nearly 50 cents cheaper than last year. The national average held on the week as demand was mostly stable at 8.5 million b/d, despite gasoline stocks increasing by 700,000 barrels.

On the week, 41 state gas price averages fluctuated by no more than two cents. Of those, 38 states only saw a penny increase or decrease. A handful of states saw more substantial gas price increases including Florida (+9 cents), Delaware (+6 cents), New Jersey (+6 cents), Washington, D.C. (+5 cents), West Virginia (+4 cents) and Maryland (+3 cents).

At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate decreased by $1.67 to settle at $37.05. Crude prices dropped due to market concern about increasing coronavirus infections worldwide, which could lower crude demand. For this week, crude prices could decline further if demand concerns continue to worry the market.

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

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 76 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.