Andy Close
Gas prices are one cent lower in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.558 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.
This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average $3.558
Average price during the week of December 6, 2021 $3.564
Average price during the week of December 14, 2020 $2.524
The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:
$3.561 Altoona
$3.551 Beaver
$3.599 Bradford
$3.493 Brookville
$3.567 Butler
$3.521 Clarion
$3.563 DuBois
$3.575 Erie
$3.510 Greensburg
$3.567 Indiana
$3.564 Jeannette
$3.524 Kittanning
$3.556 Latrobe
$3.584 Meadville
$3.599 Mercer
$3.498 New Castle
$3.557 New Kensington
$3.599 Oil City
$3.544 Pittsburgh
$3.499 Sharon
$3.582 Uniontown
$3.599 Warren
$3.557 Washington
Trend Analysis:
Pump prices continue their slow seasonal descent as the national average for a gallon of gas fell two cents on the week to $3.33.
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), total domestic gasoline stocks increased by nearly 4 million barrels to 219.3 million barrels last week. Meanwhile, gasoline demand was relatively flat, creeping upwards from 8.8 million barrels per day to 8.9 million barrels per day. The slight increase in demand was countered by crude prices in the low $70s per barrel.
At the close of last week’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate increased 73 cents to settle at $71.67. Crude prices increased slightly after EIA’s weekly report showed that total domestic crude inventories decreased by 200,000 barrels to 432.9 million barrels. The current storage level is approximately 14 percent lower than last year’s storage level at this time, which is helping to keep crude prices elevated. Additionally, prices rebounded last week as optimism increased that the omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus will not have as large an impact on global energy demand as initially feared.
Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at GasPrices.AAA.com.
