Andy Close
Gas prices mostly remained the same in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.852 per gallon, dropping by a penny according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.
This week’s average prices:
Western Pennsylvania Average: $3.852
Average price during the week of August 28, 2023: $3.861
Average price during the week of September 6, 2022: $4.010
Gas prices in Warren remain among the highest in the region at $3.999
The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:
$3.892 Altoona
$3.731 Beaver
$3.759 Bradford
$3.791 Brookville
$3.921 Butler
$3.905 Clarion
$3.910 DuBois
$3.959 Erie
$3.849 Greensburg
$3.891 Indiana
$3.870 Jeannette
$3.869 Kittanning
$3.895 Latrobe
$3.698 Meadville
$4.000 Mercer
$3.663 New Castle
$3.884 New Kensington
$3.996 Oil City
$3.843 Pittsburgh
$3.661 Sharon
$3.790 Uniontown
$3.999 Warren
$3.826 Washington
Trend Analysis:
While damage assessments are still being made in the wake of Hurricane Idalia, pump prices remained in neutral, with the national average for a gallon of gas falling by a penny since last week to $3.81. Oil and gas experts have noted that overall gasoline demand during the summer vacation season failed to match previous years despite retail gasoline prices below last year’s. Today’s national average is two cents less than a month ago but three cents more than a year ago.
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand increased slightly from 8.91 to 9.07 million barrels per day last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks took a slight step back to 217.4 million barrels. Although demand has increased, fluctuating oil prices have limited pump price increases.
At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate increased by 47 cents to settle at $81.63. Oil prices rose amid ongoing concern Hurricane Idalia would interrupt fuel supply in the Southeast. However, some fuel terminals have resumed operations, and more are expected in the coming days as storms subside and damage assessments can be undertaken. Additionally, the EIA reported that total domestic commercial crude inventories decreased significantly from 433.5 to 422.9 million barrels.
