NO JOKE: THE NATIONAL AVERAGE PRICE OF GASOLINE TAKES A BREAK FROM JUMPING

After climbing for four straight weeks, the national average is unchanged compared to a week ago at $3.51 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 up 16.1 cents from a month ago and 0.9 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 2.9 cents in the last week and stands at $3.99 per gallon—20 cents lower than one year ago.

“No April Fools’ joke: the national average price of gasoline has finally slowed a bit after four weeks of notable increases, stalling in the mid-$3.50s for the last week or two, while the average for diesel fell back below $4 per gallon—not a bad week for motorists as rising demand would normally put solid upward pressure on prices,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “For now, motorists have a bit of a reprieve from the constant big weekly price jumps. While we seem to be nearing a short-term peak, one word of caution for those in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast: you haven’t yet finished the transition to summer gasoline, so you may experience some sticker shock in a few weeks. Be prepared for somewhat of a punch. For the rest of the nation, so long as we don’t see extenuating circumstances, we’re likely close to a top in prices. Let’s hope it pans out and sticks!”

OIL PRICES

Oil markets have maintained their momentum over the last week, with prices remaining solidly above $80, and a late-week rally fueled prices to again climb to recent high water marks. Tighter oil supply and ongoing tensions in the Middle East continue to keep oil prices elevated. With global oil inventories tightening and OPEC+ production cuts extended through the second quarter, tight supply remains a large focus for crude prices. In addition, Israel continues to show a desire for further attacks, ignoring calls for a cease-fire, raising the risk of continued Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea. In early Monday trade, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil was down 32 cents to $82.85 per barrel, up from last week’s $80.94 per barrel start. Brent crude was down 41 cents to $86.59 per barrel, up from last week’s $85.75 per barrel fetch.

OIL AND REFINED PRODUCTS

Last week’s report from the EIA showed a 3.2-million-barrel rise in crude oil inventories, which is slightly above the five-year average, while the SPR tacked on another 700,000 barrels. Domestic crude oil production remained slightly off records at 13.1 million barrels per day. Gasoline inventories rose 1.3 million barrels and stand just below the five-year average, while distillate inventories fell 1.2 million barrels and are about 6% below the five-year average. Implied gasoline demand, EIA’s proxy for retail demand, showed a drop of 94,000 bpd to 8.72 million barrels per day. Refinery utilization rose 0.9 percentage points to 88.7%, a sign that the bulk of maintenance may be behind U.S. refiners.

FUEL DEMAND

According to GasBuddy demand data driven by its Pay with GasBuddy™ fuel card, U.S. retail gasoline demand saw a rise of 2.2% for the week ending March 31 (Sun-Sat). Broken down by PADD region, demand rose 3.7% in PADD 1, rose 0.6% in PADD 2, rose 4.6% in PADD 3, fell 0.5% in PADD 4, and rose 0.2% in PADD 5. GasBuddy models U.S. gasoline demand at 8.916 million barrels per day.

GAS PRICE TRENDS

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.29 per gallon, down 10 cents from last week, followed by $3.19, $3.39, $3.49, and $3.59 rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. gas price is $3.35 per gallon, down 4 cents from last week and about 16 cents lower than the national average.
The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.85 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.94 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average prices: Colorado ($3.03), Mississippi ($3.04), Texas ($3.10).
The states with the highest average prices: California ($5.06), Hawaii ($4.64), and Washington ($4.48).

DIESEL PRICE TRENDS

The most common U.S. diesel price stood at $3.99 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $3.79, $3.89, $3.69, and $4.19 rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. diesel price is $3.89 per gallon, down 10 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 $4.99 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.40 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average diesel prices: Texas ($3.54), Oklahoma ($3.54), and Mississippi ($3.63).
The states with the highest average diesel prices: Hawaii ($5.59), California ($5.35), and Washington ($4.59).