Gas Price Rise Hits Pause as Oil Falls

The nation’s average price of gasoline has returned to a decline, falling 0.9 cents compared to a week ago, and stands at $3.08 per gallon, 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 6.5 cents from a month ago and is 1.8 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has increased 4.4 cents in the last week and stands at $3.650 per gallon.

“Oil prices have declined over the last week following President Trump’s speech at the World Economic Forum, where he urged Saudi Arabia to lower oil prices by restoring production. The downturn in oil has caused gas prices to stabilize for the time being, with crude now more than $5 per barrel below where it was a couple of weeks ago,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “As we approach the February 1 deadline for potential U.S. tariffs on Canada and Mexico — key sources of crude oil imports — we’ll be monitoring for any potential impact, including the possibility of retaliatory tariffs. For now, I remain hopeful that tariffs won’t materialize, and gas prices could stay relatively stable over the next few weeks, at least until the seasonal rise in prices begins in mid-to-late February.”

OIL PRICES

President Trump spoke at the World Economic Forum last week, renewing pressure on Saudi Arabia to increase oil production to bring down prices, aiming to undermine Russia’s oil revenue and pressure them to end the war in Ukraine. In addition, a drastic turn on policy, including environmental regulations, is expected to potentially boost production slowly, also putting downward pressure on oil. In addition, the threat of tariffs looms, and increased inflation as a result could have a chilling effect on the global economy. Trade wars could emerge, which could slow growth and thus demand. In early Monday trade, a barrel of WTI crude oil was down 60 cents to $74.06 per barrel, down from last week’s $76.65 per barrel start. Brent crude oil was also trading lower, down 57 cents to $77.93 per barrel, also a bit lower than last week’s $79.76 per barrel start.

OIL AND REFINED PRODUCTS

Last week’s report from the Energy Information Administration showed another solid jump in gasoline inventories as seasonal demand remains weak, but crude oil and distillate inventories fell, with crude inventories down 1 million barrels, while U.S. oil production inched down to 13.477 million barrels per day. Distillate inventories sank 3.1 million barrels with cold weather throughout much of the U.S. behind a surge in demand and drop in inventories. Implied gasoline demand fell to 8.086 million barrels per day, a drop of 239,000 barrels from last week. Refinery utilization dipped 5.8 percentage points as weather-related outages jumped, as well as some refiners began seasonal maintenance.

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 $2.89, $3.09, $3.19, and $2.79 rounding out the top five most common prices.

The median U.S. gas price is $2.99 per gallon, unchanged from last week and about 10 cents lower than the national average.

The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.32 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.59 per gallon.

The states with the lowest average prices: Oklahoma ($2.62), Mississippi ($2.64), Texas ($2.68).

The states with the highest average prices: Hawaii ($4.51), California ($4.38), and Washington ($3.87).

Biggest weekly changes: Ohio (-11.2¢), Indiana (-8.4¢), Michigan (-6.5¢), Maryland (-5.5¢), Utah (-5.1¢)

DIESEL PRICE TRENDS

The most common U.S. diesel price stood at $3.59 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $3.69, $3.49, $3.39, and $3.29, rounding out the top five most common prices.

The median U.S. diesel price is $3.59 per gallon, up 10 cents from last week and about 6 cents lower than the national average.

Diesel prices at the top 10% of stations in the country average $4.54 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.12 per gallon.

The states with the lowest average diesel prices: Oklahoma ($3.14), Montana ($3.27), and Arkansas ($3.29).

The states with the highest average diesel prices: Hawaii ($5.29), California ($4.96), and Washington ($4.32).

Biggest weekly changes: New Mexico (+21.3¢), Colorado (+18.4¢), Texas (+13.4¢), South Carolina (+8.5¢), Kentucky (+8.0¢).