NATIONAL AVERAGE INCHES UP FOR SECOND STRAIGHT WEEK

For the second straight week, the nation’s average price of gasoline has climbed, rising 4.3 cents from a week ago to $3.12 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 4.0 cents from a month ago and 32.5 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has risen 3.0 cents in the last week and stands at $3.92 per gallon—69 cents lower than one year ago.

“A majority of states again saw average gasoline prices rise over the last week, pushed slightly higher by oil prices that had risen to multi-month highs. While most states saw price increases, they were somewhat tame, though the trend will likely begin to accelerate toward the end of the month. For now, the most common gas price in the U.S. remains $2.99 per gallon, but its days are numbered,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “While Southern California is already beginning the transition to summer gasoline, and with it, higher prices, we could see a brief ‘clearance sale’ on remaining winter gasoline in some pockets of interior states as refiners start to move these time-sensitive barrels out of the system. Motorists shouldn’t be fooled into thinking any drop in prices is a long-term trend, but rather a very short-term one. I expect any modest and temporary drops in prices will be replaced by pricier gasoline as we get closer to the start of spring.”

OIL PRICES

The last week has seen oil prices give up gains and revert to the low $70s, digesting a better-than-expected jobs report, which may keep demand from returning to growth as quickly as interest rates remain restrictive, and could now spend more time at such levels as the Fed is keen to see the data continue to trend in the right direction given the strong jobs market. In addition, while U.S. attacks on Iranian-aligned rebels have ramped up, it seems both sides are trying to avoid escalation in tensions, which could provide a catalyst for oil prices, should either side ramp up attacks. With warmer-than-average weather, demand for gasoline has grown to its highest level of the year, according to GasBuddy data, but with gasoline inventories above average, it may be a few weeks before demand is able to chisel away at excess inventories.

OIL AND REFINED PRODUCTS

Last week’s report from the Energy Information Administration showed a modest 1.2 million barrel rise in crude oil inventories, which remain 5% below the seasonal average for this time of year, while the SPR rose 900,000 barrels. Gasoline inventories rose by 1.2 million barrels, even against lower refinery utilization, which fell 2.6 percentage points to 82.9%. Distillate inventories fell by 2.5 million barrels but remain about 11% above year-ago levels. Implied gasoline demand, a proxy for retail consumption, rose 264,000 bpd to 8.14 million barrels per day. GasBuddy data also suggests that number will improve again for the coming week’s report.

FUEL DEMAND

According to GasBuddy demand data driven by its Pay with GasBuddy™ fuel card, U.S. retail gasoline demand saw an increase of 4.8% for the week ending February 3 (Sun-Sat). Broken down by PADD region, demand rose 3.1% in PADD 1, rose 6.5% in PADD 2, rose 5.9% in PADD 3, fell 2.1% in PADD 4, and rose 1.5% in PADD 5. GasBuddy models U.S. gasoline demand at 8.378 million barrels per day.

GAS PRICE TRENDS

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $2.99 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $3.09, $2.89, $2.79, and $3.19 rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. gas price is $2.99 per gallon, up 3 cents from last week and about 13 cents lower than the national average.
The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.33 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.60 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average prices: Oklahoma ($2.62), Wyoming ($2.69), Colorado ($2.72).
The states with the highest average prices: Hawaii ($4.69), California ($4.53), and Washington ($3.89).

DIESEL PRICE TRENDS

The most common U.S. diesel price stood at $3.99 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $3.89, $3.59, $3.79, and $3.69 rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. diesel price is $3.79 per gallon, unchanged from last week and about 13 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 $3.28 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average diesel prices: Oklahoma ($3.34), Colorado ($3.37), and Nebraska ($3.49).
The states with the highest average diesel prices: Hawaii ($5.66), California ($5.25), and Washington ($4.67).