National Average Pushed Up Due to West Coast Gas Price Surge

West Coast refinery snags boost gas prices considerably in five states

The nation’s average price of gasoline has risen for the second straight week, climbing 2.2 cents compared to a week ago, and stands at $3.11 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 unchanged from a month ago but is 16.5 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has increased 0.8 cents in the last week and stands at $3.632 per gallon.

“The national average has inched higher, driven primarily by sharp gas price increases on the West Coast, where refinery maintenance and outages have created a ripple effect in neighboring states, pushing prices higher in many communities,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “While most of the country has experienced a relatively quiet week for gas prices, the West Coast has seen rapid increases — a trend that should slow in the coming days. Although the surge remains isolated to the West for now, refinery maintenance will soon begin in other regions, and with the transition to summer gasoline blends underway, prices in most areas are likely to start rising in the weeks ahead. Meanwhile, oil prices remain subdued in the low $70s as President Trump works on a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine — an event that, if realized, could have significant implications for oil markets in the months ahead.”

OIL PRICES

Oil markets saw selling pressure last week as a potential Russia-Ukraine peace deal brought optimism that such a deal could eventually ease sanctions on Russian crude oil, which are currently impacting global supply flows. Bank of America in a research note suggested that Brent crude prices could drop between $5 and $10 per barrel if sanctions were eased, as well as global refining margins, which would aid President Trump’s desire to reduce energy prices in the United States. Last week Monday saw WTI crude oil prices rising to $72.03 per barrel in early trade, while at press time today, WTI was off 3 cents to $70.71 per barrel. Brent crude oil was also down 5 cents in early Monday trade to $74.69 per barrel, nearly $1 lower than last Monday’s $75.68 per barrel fetch.

OIL AND REFINED PRODUCTS

Last week’s report from the Energy Information Administration showed a 4.1-million-barrel rise in oil inventories, while the SPR rose 200,000 barrels and domestic oil production edged up to nearly 13.5 million barrels per day. Gasoline inventories fell 3 million barrels, likely as refiners begin ramping up the purge of winter-spec gasoline ahead of the transition to summer gasoline, while implied demand, EIA’s proxy for retail demand rose 249,000 bpd to 8.576 again illustrating retail outlets likely gobbling up gasoline at discounted prices. Distillate inventories fell just 100,000 barrels after two weeks of steep declines due to the cold, while refinery utilization rose 0.5 percentage points to 85.0%. Total U.S. petroleum inventories stand 20 million barrels lower than a year ago.

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 $2.89, $3.09, $2.79, and $3.19 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 12 cents lower than the national average.

The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.54 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.55 per gallon.

The states with the lowest average prices: Mississippi ($2.65), Oklahoma ($2.65), Louisiana ($2.67).

The states with the highest average prices: California ($4.75), Hawaii ($4.47), and Washington ($4.08).

Biggest weekly changes: California (+17.6¢), Florida (-12.6¢), Nevada (+10.9¢), Arizona (+10.8¢), Maryland (-8.9¢)

DIESEL PRICE TRENDS

The most common U.S. diesel price stood at $3.59 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $3.49, $3.39, $3.79, and $3.69, rounding out the top five most common prices.

The median U.S. diesel price is $3.55 per gallon, up 4 cents from last week and about 8 cents lower than the national average.

Diesel prices at the top 10% of stations in the country average $4.65 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.07 per gallon.

The states with the lowest average diesel prices: Oklahoma ($3.17), Texas ($3.22), and Arkansas ($3.26).

The states with the highest average diesel prices: Hawaii ($5.32), California ($5.01), and Washington ($4.37).

Biggest weekly changes: West Virginia (+14.3¢), Delaware (-10.1¢), Nevada (+7.7¢), Maryland (-7.4¢), Iowa (-7.3¢).