National Average Sees Weekly Rise, Watch Out East Coast
by: GasBuddy
Published: April 15, 2024
Huntington Beach Sunday, April 14, 2024
BOSTON...The nation’s average price of gasoline has risen for the second straight week, climbing 3.1 cents from a week ago to $3.60 per gallon today, according to GasBuddy® data compiled from more than 12 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country. The national average is up 14.2 cents from a month ago and 5.5 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 1.2 cents in the last week and stands at $4.01 per gallon—16 cents lower than one year ago.
“With Iran’s attack on Israel over the weekend, the stakes couldn’t have been higher for a major potential impact on oil and gasoline prices. With the attacks largely thwarted and mostly unsuccessful, and with Iran signaling that their attack will be the end of their response, the risk to crude oil has diminished, and the situation is thankfully likely to de-escalate going forward,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “If Israel, which has promised to respond with further attacks, indeed does press on, it could certainly still push oil prices higher. However, motorists can expect other factors to influence what they’re paying at the pump. Motorists in the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S. will soon see a spike in prices as they make the leap to summer gasoline—as much as 20-50 cents per gallon higher in nearly a dozen states. On the West Coast, price increases should finally slow, but the national average will likely climb again in the coming week.”
OIL PRICES
With Iran attacking Israel over the weekend, one might expect oil prices to react negatively, as Iran is a major oil producer. However, with a wave of drone attacks resulting in many being shot down before reaching their targets, the attacks were seen as broadly unsuccessful. Iran suggested that no further response would be coming after Jordan and the United States shot down many of them. Israel, meanwhile, has been weighing a response, but with heavy U.S. and global pressure on Israel to avoid re-escalating tensions, there are significant doubts. With Iran’s attack being seen as weak and now over, oil prices opened Monday in the red as major conflict seems to have been avoided. WTI crude oil was last down 57 cents to $85.09 per barrel, but was still up $4 from last Monday’s $81.49 per barrel fetch. Brent crude was also in the red, down 76 cents to $89.69 per barrel, but still a nearly $4 rise versus last Monday’s $85.77 per barrel start.
OIL AND REFINED PRODUCTS
Last week’s report from the EIA showed a notable 5.8 million barrel rise in crude oil inventories, which are some 2% below the five-year average, while the SPR tacked on an additional 600,000 barrels. Domestic crude production held at 13.1 million barrels per day, still 800,000 barrels higher than a year ago. Gasoline inventories inched up 700,000 barrels but are 3% below the five-year average. Distillate inventories rose 1.7 million barrels over the last week but stand 5% below the five-year average, while implied gasoline demand slipped 624,000 barrels per day to 8.61 million. Refinery utilization fell 0.3 percentage points to 88.3% as maintenance season continues to drag on. Total oil stocks now stand 12.5 million barrels below last year, including the SPR.
FUEL DEMAND
According to GasBuddy demand data driven by its Pay with GasBuddy™ fuel card, U.S. retail gasoline demand saw a drop of 0.7% for the week ending April 13 (Sun-Sat). Broken down by PADD region, demand fell 1.5% in PADD 1, rose 1.1% in PADD 2, fell 3.1% in PADD 3, rose 0.0% in PADD 4, and fell 1.7% in PADD 5. GasBuddy models U.S. gasoline demand at 8.690 million barrels per day for the week ending April 13.
GAS PRICE TRENDS
The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.39 per gallon, up 10 cents from last week, followed by $3.29, $3.49, $3.19, and $3.59 rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. gas price is $3.39 per gallon, unchanged from last week and about 22 cents lower than the national average. The top 10% of stations in the country average $5.14 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.01 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average prices: Colorado ($3.03), Mississippi ($3.07), Louisiana ($3.12).
The states with the highest average prices: California ($5.41), Hawaii ($4.66), and Washington ($4.62).
DIESEL PRICE TRENDS
The most common U.S. diesel price stood at $3.99 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $3.79, $3.89, $4.09, and $3.69 rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. diesel price is $3.89 per gallon, down 6 cents from last week and about 12 cents lower than the national average for diesel. Diesel prices at the top 10% of stations in the country average $4.98 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.44 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average diesel prices: Texas ($3.58), Oklahoma ($3.58), and Colorado ($3.64).
The states with the highest average diesel prices: Hawaii ($5.55).