Andy Close
The average price of gasoline across Western Pennsylvania is steady this week at $2.537 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.
This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average $2.537
Average price during the week of September 21, 2020 $2.534
Average price during the week of September 30, 2019 $2.861
The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:
$2.553 Altoona
$2.592 Beaver
$2.597 Bradford
$2.593 Brookville
$2.492 Butler
$2.482 Clarion
$2.573 DuBois
$2.585 Erie
$2.455 Greensburg
$2.590 Indiana
$2.223 Jeannette
$2.593 Kittanning
$2.571 Latrobe
$2.585 Meadville
$2.587 Mercer
$2.407 New Castle
$2.572 New Kensington
$2.599 Oil City
$2.514 Pittsburgh
$2.571 Sharon
$2.573 Uniontown
$2.599 Warren
$2.441 Washington
Trend Analysis:
Today’s national gas price average is $2.18, which is the same price as last week, five cents lower than a month ago, and 47 cents cheaper than a year ago. On the week, most states saw gas prices decrease or fluctuate by a penny or two.
The latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) report measures demand at 8.52 million b/d, which is a slight uptick from the previous week’s 8.48 million b/d. However, the small increase is still 850,000 b/d lower than last year at this time. Low demand, even as gasoline inventory declines, has helped pump prices move lower or hold steady across the country. This is likely to continue into the fall as the season generally sees fewer road trips, especially during the pandemic. The low demand should translate to cheaper prices for motorists.
At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate decreased by six cents to settle at $40.25. Domestic crude prices declined due to increased market fears as coronavirus infections increase worldwide, which could impact crude demand. Before market fears emerged, there was some market optimism that domestic demand could be starting to stabilize after the EIA’s latest weekly report revealed that total domestic crude inventories decreased. Decreasing stocks could signal that supply and demand are rebalancing, while crude production decreased by 200,000 b/d to 10.7 million b/d. For this week, crude prices could decline further if demand concerns continue to worry the market.
Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at GasPrices.AAA.com.
AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 76 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members. News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
