National Average Sees 5th Straight Weekly Dip as Oil Struggles

For the fifth straight week, the nation’s average price of gasoline has declined, falling 4.6 cents compared to a week ago to $3.28 per gallon today, 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 down 17.9 cents from a month ago and is 48.9 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 0.2 cents in the last week and stands at $3.65 per gallon—a fresh multi-year low.

“Motorists rejoice! The national average price of gasoline prices has continued to slump for the fifth straight week. With the summer driving season now over, we have much to look forward to for the fall: more drops at the pump as demand drops seasonally, and the changeover to cheaper winter gasoline is just two weeks away,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “As long as we don’t see a major hurricane head into the Gulf and the situation improves in the Middle East, the national average could fall below $3 in the next two months—GasBuddy is already tracking eight states at that level or lower. While diesel prices fell slightly last week, they may rise with winter growing closer and the economy’s likely rebound ahead of the Fed’s expected rate cut. So, while it’s great news for gas prices, diesel will likely soon see its seasonal rise kick in.”

OIL MARKETS

As trading returned after the holiday weekend, bearish data was pushing oil prices near multi-month lows, with Chinese demand continuing to struggle, and OPEC+ members poised to start restoring oil production. In early Tuesday trade, a barrel of WTI crude was last down 68 cents to $72.87 per barrel, down nearly $4 from last week Monday’s $76.74 per barrel start. Brent crude was also in the red, down $1.25 to $75.48 per barrel, a nearly $4 decline from last Monday. While Libya’s political standoff has hammered crude oil exports from the oil-rich African nation, it wasn’t inspiring much of a move in markets, which have been dominated by concerns over OPEC’s plan to gradually restore barrels it had cut over a year ago.

OIL AND REFINED PRODUCTS

Last week’s report from the EIA showed a slight 800,000-barrel drop in crude oil inventories, while the SPR tacked on another 700,000 barrels. Domestic crude oil production dipped slightly back to 13.3 million barrels per day. Gasoline inventories fell 2.2 million barrels, likely as refiners begin shedding any remaining winter-spec fuel ahead of the September 16th switch back to cheaper winter gasoline. Distillate inventories rose 300,000 barrels, while implied gasoline demand, EIA’s proxy for retail demand, rose 147,000 bpd to 9.19 million. Refinery utilization rose 1 percentage point to 93.3%.

FUEL DEMAND

According to GasBuddy demand data driven by its Pay with GasBuddy™ fuel card, U.S. retail gasoline demand saw a fall of 0.2% for the week ending August 31 (Sun-Sat). Broken down by PADD region, demand fell 1.2% in PADD 1, rose 0.8% in PADD 2, fell 2.0% in PADD 3, fell 0.3% in PADD 4, and rose 0.6% in PADD 5. GasBuddy models U.S. gasoline demand at 9.13 million barrels per day.

GAS PRICE TRENDS

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.19 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $3.29, $2.99, $3.09, and $3.39 rounding out the top five most common prices.

The median U.S. gas price is $3.19 per gallon, down 2 cents from last week and about 9 cents lower than the national average.

The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.42 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.69 per gallon.

The states with the lowest average prices: Texas ($2.81), Mississippi ($2.81), Oklahoma ($2.82).

The states with the highest average prices: Hawaii ($4.58), California ($4.58), and Washington ($4.11).

Biggest weekly changes: Indiana (-11.9¢), Kentucky (-7.6¢), Tennessee (-7.4¢), Texas (-7.3¢), Michigan (-7.1¢)

DIESEL PRICE TRENDS

The most common U.S. diesel price stood at $3.59 per gallon, down 10 cents from last week, followed by $3.49, $3.69, $3.39, and $3.29 rounding out the top five most common prices.

The median U.S. diesel price is $3.57 per gallon, down 2 cents from last week and about 9 cents lower than the national average for diesel.

Diesel prices at the top 10% of stations in the country average $4.55 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.05 per gallon.

The states with the lowest average diesel prices: Oklahoma ($3.16), Texas ($3.20), and Mississippi ($3.30).

The states with the highest average diesel prices: Hawaii ($5.34), California ($4.87), and Washington ($4.41).

Biggest weekly changes: Rhode Island (-8.0¢), Florida (-5.2¢), Texas (+5.1¢), Wyoming (-4.3¢), Tennessee (-3.8¢).