GAS PRICE JUMPS CONTINUE, 42 STATES SEE RISE, 8 SEE TEMPORARY DIPS AS NATIONAL AVERAGE SEES 4TH STRAIGHT RISE

For the fourth straight week, the nation’s average price of gasoline has gone up, rising 8.7 cents from a week ago to $3.26 per gallon yesterday 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 16.7 cents from a month ago but 11.6 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has risen 10.0 cents in the last week and stands at $4.09 per gallon—38 cents lower than one year ago.

“Roses are red, violets are blue, Valentine’s is over, and gas prices are going anywhere but lower,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “With Valentine’s Day now behind us, we have officially entered the time of year when gas prices traditionally start their spring fling, but we’ve already seen the streak of consecutive increases in the national average hit four weeks. While the early start could also mean an early end, we still have as many as 8 weeks before gas prices typically increase, and anything can happen between now and then. One of the most critical elements to how much gas prices will climb is how quickly and effectively refiners can finish their pre-summer maintenance, start producing EPA-mandated summer gasoline, and build up supply of it before Memorial Day.”

OIL PRICES

The price of oil has seen some sideways movement, but overall strength continues, with oil now closing in on $80, its highest level since November. In limited trade due to the President’s Day holiday, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude was up 5 cents to $79.24 per barrel, a $3 per barrel rise from last Monday’s $76.18 per barrel level. Brent crude was seeing a slight dip, falling 4 cents in early trade to $83.43 per barrel, but still some $2 higher than last week’s $81.42 per barrel fetch. Global inventories continue to tighten heading into a time of year when demand typically increases, while tensions in the Middle East again perk up between Israel and Lebanon, as Israel bombed Lebanon last week in retaliation for earlier rocket attacks.

OIL AND REFINED PRODUCTS

Last week’s report from the Energy Information Administration showed a large 12-million-barrel build in oil inventories as refineries slipped into maintenance season. Domestic crude oil production remained at 13.3 million barrels per day, still a million higher than a year ago, while the SPR rose another 700,000 barrels to stand at nearly 359 million barrels. Gasoline inventories fell 3.7 million barrels as refiners began the purge of winter gasoline, while distillate inventories fell 1.8 million barrels but still stand some 5% above last year’s level. Implied gasoline demand, a proxy for retail demand, fell 639,000 bpd to 8.17 million, in agreement with previous GasBuddy data showing a decline. Refinery utilization, meanwhile, fell 1.8 percentage points to just 80.6% of capacity, likely as refiners begin the transition into winter maintenance, ahead of warmer weather and the changeover to summer-spec fuels.

FUEL DEMAND

According to GasBuddy demand data driven by its Pay with GasBuddy™ fuel card, U.S. retail gasoline demand saw an increase of 0.7% for the week ending February 18 (Sun-Sat). Broken down by PADD region, demand fell 2.1% in PADD 1, rose 3.3% in PADD 2, fell 3.1% in PADD 3, rose 0.3% in PADD 4, and rose 5.0% in PADD 5. GasBuddy models U.S. gasoline demand at 8.381 million barrels per day.

GAS PRICE TRENDS

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $2.99 per gallon, down 20 cents from last week, followed by $3.19, $2.89, $3.29, and $3.09 rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. gas price is $3.17 per gallon, up 8 cents from last week and about 9 cents lower than the national average.
The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.40 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.74 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average prices: Oklahoma ($2.75), Wyoming ($2.81), Mississippi ($2.83).
The states with the highest average prices: Hawaii ($4.68), California ($4.62), and Washington ($3.85).

DIESEL PRICE TRENDS

The most common U.S. diesel price stood at $3.99 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $4.19, $3.89, $3.79, and $3.69 rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. diesel price is $3.99 per gallon, up 6 cents from last week and about 10 cents lower than the national average for diesel.
Diesel prices at the top 10% of stations in the country average $5.03 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.54 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average diesel prices: Oklahoma ($3.60), Mississippi ($3.70), and Kansas ($3.71).
The states with the highest average diesel prices: Hawaii ($5.58), California ($5.37), and Washington ($4.61).