Andy Close
Gas prices are five cents lower in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.684 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.
This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average: $3.684
Average price during the week of March 20, 202: $3.733
Average price during the week of March 28, 2022: $4.309
Warren County drivers are paying an average of $3.699 a gallon for regular unleaded gasoline, down form $3.797 last week. Forest County drivers are paying an average of $3.719 a gallon.
The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:
$3.656 Altoona
$3.729 Beaver
$3.703 Bradford
$3.708 Brookville
$3.691 Butler
$3.676 Clarion
$3.718 DuBois
$3.658 Erie
$3.713 Greensburg
$3.690 Indiana
$3.795 Jeannette
$3.695 Kittanning
$3.706 Latrobe
$3.683 Meadville
$3.715 Mercer
$3.561 New Castle
$3.696 New Kensington
$3.692 Oil City
$3.716 Pittsburgh
$3.549 Sharon
$3.647 Uniontown
$3.699 Warren
$3.641 Washington
Trend Analysis:
With the arrival of spring and better driving weather, gas demand surged over the last week. However, fears of a recession caused global oil prices to hover near $70 a barrel, which is keeping gas prices lower. The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline dropped three cents since last week to hit $3.43. Today’s national average is four cents more than a month ago but 80 cents less than a year ago.
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand increased from 8.59 million to 8.96 million barrels per day last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks decreased significantly by 6.4 million barrels to 229.6 million barrels last week. Increasing demand amid tighter supply would typically push pump prices higher; however, recent lower oil prices have pushed gas prices down.
At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate did increase by $1.23 to settle at $70.90. Crude prices rose after the EIA reported that demand grew amid a reduction in gasoline stocks, signaling to the market that demand may be more robust than anticipated this year despite ongoing economic concerns. Additionally, the EIA reported that total domestic commercial crude inventories increased by 1.1 million barrels to 481.2 million barrels last week.
Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at gasprices.aaa.com.
