GAS PRICES COOL OFF, REMAIN IN TIGHT RANGE SINCE APRIL

After inching higher last week, the nation’s average price of gasoline has seen a slight dip, falling 1.4 cents from a week ago to $3.56 per gallon, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country. The national average has now been stuck between $3.50 and $3.60 every day since April 23. The national average price of diesel has fallen 3.7 cents in the last week and stands at $3.85 per gallon.

“It has been a quiet week for the national average, with little overall movement in average gas prices nationally even as oil prices have been a bit unstable. Some states have seen minor increases while others have seen decreases, and the mixed bag is likely to continue for the time being with oil prices a bit all over the place,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “While gasoline demand continues to inch up, we could see additional pressure on pump prices, while the price of diesel continues to see downward movement. While the uncertainty over the direction of the economy is a major player in preventing oil’s rise, inventories of oil and gasoline do remain tight, preventing much additional downward movement as well. We’ll have to see which of those factors emerges as a winner to predict when the next large movement in prices could be. We’re also seeing more tropical activity in the Atlantic that could pose challenges in the weeks ahead as hurricane season ramps up.”

OIL PRICES

Some volatility remained in the oil patch as markets opened Tuesday, with a barrel of West Texas Intermediate down 66 cents to $71.12 per barrel, which represents an increase of over $2 from last week’s $68.59 per barrel start. Brent crude oil was off 2 cents in early Tuesday trade to $76.07 per barrel, also over $2 higher than last week’s $78.09 per barrel start. The market continues to balance both declining supply from OPEC+ members, but also weaker demand as various central banks continue to raise interest rates, stifling economic growth and oil demand, leading oil to somewhat of a balancing act that has spanned the better part of 2023.

OIL AND REFINED PRODUCTS

Last week’s report from the Energy Information Administration showed a significant 7.9-million-barrel rise in crude oil inventories, which are now 48 million barrels higher than a year ago, excluding the SPR, while the SPR fell 1.9 million barrels and stands 31% below its year-ago level. Gasoline inventories rose by 2.1 million barrels, a level 3.4 million barrels higher than a year ago, while distillate inventories rose by 2.1 million barrels, and stand 4.1 million barrels higher than last year. Implied gasoline demand, a proxy for retail demand, was 25,000 barrels per day lower at 9.19 million barrels, while refinery utilization decreased 2.1 percentage points to 93.7% of capacity. Total U.S. oil inventories are up 97 million barrels from last year, but including the SPR are down 62.6 million barrels from a year ago.

FUEL DEMAND

According to GasBuddy demand data driven by its Pay with GasBuddy™ fuel card, U.S. retail gasoline demand saw a 1.6% rise last week (Sun-Sat). Broken down by PADD region, demand rose 1.0% in PADD 1, rose 1.1% in PADD 2, rose 3.5% in PADD 3, rose 3.7% in PADD 4, and rose 2.5% in PADD 5.

GAS PRICE TRENDS

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.49 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $3.29, $3.39, $3.19, and $3.59 rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. gas price is $3.39 per gallon, down 8 cents from last week and about 17 cents lower than the national average.
The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.82 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.96 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average prices: Mississippi ($2.99), Texas ($3.11), and South Carolina ($3.12).
The states with the highest average prices: Washington ($4.85), California ($4.83), and Hawaii ($4.68).

DIESEL PRICE TRENDS

The most common U.S. diesel price stood at $3.69 per gallon, down 20 cents from last week, followed by $3.59, $3.79, $3.99, and $3.89 rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. diesel price is $3.75 per gallon, down 4 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 $4.92 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.14 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average diesel prices: Texas ($3.26), Louisiana ($3.44), and Oklahoma ($3.47).
The states with the highest average diesel prices: Hawaii ($5.72), California ($4.97), and Washington ($4.89).