An unwelcome milestone has been reached in the U.S. — the highest gas price that AAA has ever seen when the average price hit $5.01 over the weekend.
GasBuddy’s survey of stations in Pennsylvania on Monday showed average prices in the state have risen 11.5 cents in the past week, reaching an average of $5.06 a gallon on Monday.
According to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report, on Monday, Bradford’s average price was $4.990; Brookville, $5.025; DuBois, $5.018; Erie, $5.018; Oil City, $4.993; and Warren, $4.998.
According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Pennsylvania was priced at $4.73/g on Sunday while the most expensive was $6.49/g, a difference of $1.76/g.
Prices in Pennsylvania are 47.6 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand $1.88 per gallon higher than a year ago, GasBuddy reported. The price of diesel has fallen 4.0 cents nationally in the past week and stands at $5.50 per gallon.
The national average price of gasoline has risen 15.7 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $5.01/g on Monday. The national average is up 57.1 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands $1.94/g higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.
“For the first time ever, last week saw the national average reach the $5 per gallon mark, as nearly every one of the nation’s 50 states saw prices jump. For now, the upward momentum may slow down, but prices are still just one potential supply jolt away from heading even higher,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “Gasoline demand, while rising seasonally, is still well below previous records, but remains impressive with prices in all states at record levels. Should the rise in price finally start to slow demand, we could see some breathing room, but for now, it seems like Americans are proving resilient to record highs.”
According to AAA, the cost of a barrel of oil is hovering near $120, nearly double last August’s price, as increased oil demand outpaces the tight global supply. Meanwhile, domestic gasoline demand remains robust as the summer driving season ramps up.
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 800,000 barrels to 218.2 million barrels last week. Meanwhile, gasoline demand grew from 8.98 million barrels per day to 9.2 million barrels per day as drivers continue to fuel up for the summer driving season, typically a time when gas demand increases.
This dynamic between decreased supply and increased demand is contributing to rising prices at the pump. Coupled with increasing crude oil prices, this means that the price of gas will likely remain elevated for the near future.
