The price of gasoline is marching higher, which an industry analyst says happens every year as spring blossoms.
“Most Americans continued to see average gasoline prices march higher last week. The reason is the season: gasoline demand is rising as more Americans are getting out, combined with the summer gasoline switchover, which is well underway, and continued refinery maintenance,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
Gas prices are 8 cents higher in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.715 per gallon, according to AAA East Central. The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in Bradford is $3.692; in Brookville, $3.706; in DuBois, $3.743; in Erie, $3.723; and in Warren, $3.757.
Overall in Pennsylvania, it’s $3.58 per gallon, GasBuddy reports indicate. Nationally, it’s $3.44 per gallon.
“The madness should slow down in the next few weeks as we’ve seen positive data that refinery output is starting to increase, a sign that the peak of the maintenance season could be behind us,” De Haan continued. “In some positive news for Midwest motorists, the BP refinery in Whiting, Ind., that can process 440,000 barrels of oil per day is finally back to normal operations for the first time since an electrical failure happened in early February.
“For now, gas prices will likely continue to trend higher, but the fever may break soon,” he said. “When it comes to diesel, the news has been good — above average temperatures have lowered heating oil demand, and average diesel prices are on the cusp of falling back below $4 per gallon.”
The national average price of diesel has declined 2.2 cents in the last week and stands at $4.00 per gallon.
According to GasBuddy gasoline price reports, the cheapest station in Pennsylvania was priced at $3.03 per gallon Sunday while the most expensive was $4.49 per gallon, a difference of $1.46 per gallon.
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand increased slightly from 9.01 to 9.04 million barrels per day last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks dropped by 5.6 million barrels to 234.1 million barrels. Higher gas demand, amid tightening supply, has pushed pump prices higher.
At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate increased by $2.16 to settle at $79.72. Oil prices jumped after Ukrainian drones hit Russian refineries. The extent of the damage is unclear, but repairs could curtail Russian petroleum product exports, including diesel, and lead Russia importing products it needs. Additionally, the EIA reported that total domestic commercial crude stocks decreased by 1.5 million barrels to 447 million barrels last week.
