Andy Close
Gas prices are seven cents lower in Western Pennsylvania this week at $4.435 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.
This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average $4.435
Average price during the week of August 1, 2022 $4.507
Average price during the week of August 9, 2021 $3.334
The average price in Warren is $4.539.
The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:
$4.328 Altoona
$4.532 Beaver
$4.551 Bradford
$4.243 Brookville
$4.410 Butler
$4.527 Clarion
$4.344 DuBois
$4.406 Erie
$4.435 Greensburg
$4.432 Indiana
$4.376 Jeannette
$4.443 Kittanning
$4.441 Latrobe
$4.466 Meadville
$4.515 Mercer
$4.367 New Castle
$4.363 New Kensington
$4.499 Oil City
$4.429 Pittsburgh
$4.421 Sharon
$4.509 Uniontown
$4.539 Warren
$4.417 Washington
Trend Analysis:
Despite steadily falling gas prices during the peak of the summer driving season, fewer motorists fueled up last week. It is another sign that, for now, Americans are changing their driving habits to cope with higher pump prices. Meanwhile, the cost of oil has edged lower on fears of economic slowdowns elsewhere around the globe. Because of these factors, the national average for a gallon of gas fell to $4.05. Today’s national average is 67 cents less than a month ago and 87 cents more than a year ago.
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand dropped from 9.25 million barrels per day to 8.54 million barrels per day last week. The rate is 1.24 million barrels per day lower than last year and is in line with demand at the end of July 2020, when COVID-19 restrictions were in place and fewer motorists hit the road. Moreover, according to EIA, the total domestic gasoline supply rose slightly by 200,000 barrels to 225.3 million barrels.
At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate increased by 47 cents to settle at $89.01. Although crude prices made slight gains on Friday due to a strong U.S. jobs report for July, prices saw significant declines throughout the week because of market concerns about lower demand and the economy. Prices have not been this low since mid-February 2022—before Russia invaded Ukraine. Additionally, EIA reported that total domestic crude supply increased by 4.5 million barrels to 426.6 million barrels. The sharp inventory increase, during the usually high-demand summer driving season, signals low demand could continue pushing prices lower.
Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at GasPrices.AAA.com.
