Gas prices are three cents higher in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.779 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.
In Bradford, the average price is $3.796; in Brookville, $3.773; in DuBois, $3.763; in Erie, $3.763; and in Warren, $3.799.
Overall in Pennsylvania, gas prices have risen 7.1 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.69 per gallon on Monday, according to GasBuddy. Prices in Pennsylvania are 10.8 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 17.9 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has risen 2.6 cents in the last week and stands at $4.60 per gallon.
Drivers appear to be taking advantage of the recent milder weather in much of the nation by fueling up and hitting the road.
According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Pennsylvania was priced at $3.16 per gallon on Sunday while the most expensive was $4.29 per gallon, a difference of $1.13 per gallon.
The national average price of gasoline has risen 11.3 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.39 per gallon on Monday. The national average is up 30.2 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 7.3 cents per gallon higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data.
“Gasoline prices continued their upward trajectory last week as oil prices pulled them higher across the majority of the country, and continued refinery challenges kept supply of gasoline from rising more substantially,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “Macroeconomic factors have continued to weigh on oil and refined products, as strong demand in China hasn’t been slowed much by a surge in new Covid cases.”
He continued, “In addition, releases of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve have wrapped up. Concerns are increasing that without additional oil, supply will tighten in the weeks ahead, especially as the nation starts to move away from softer demand in the height of winter. Moving forward, it doesn’t look good for motorists, with prices likely to continue accelerating.”
According to data from the Energy Information Administration, gas demand rose from 7.56 million to 8.05 million barrels per day last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks increased by 3.5 million barrels to 230.3 million barrels.
At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate increased by 98 cents to settle at $81.31. Crude prices rose at the end of last week due to increased market optimism that crude demand may be more robust than expected this year.
