Gas Prices Reach Lowest of the Year
More motorists were paying less at the pump as the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas fell 8 cents the past week to $3.25, according to Thursday’s AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report — the lowest national average in 2014. The previous low for the year was $3.27, set on Feb. 7, and AAA predicted prices could fall another 5 to 15 cents by the end of the year if current conditions continue.
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The average price in Missouri dropped 14 cents the past week to $2.97, the first time any state has averaged less than $3 since Jan. 23. Missouri’s average back then was $2.99 a gallon. Some gas stations in more than two-dozen other states were posting pump prices below $3.
“Given relatively inexpensive crude prices, adequate supplies and cheaper winter-blend fuel, and barring any unexpected market-moving news, drivers in as many as 20 states could enjoy an average price of less than $3 per gallon before the end of the year,” AAA said in its weekly analysis of gas prices. Eleven other states averaged less than $3.10 a gallon Thursday. Most were in the South, but they were joined by Minnesota and New Jersey, where the statewide averages stood at $3.08. Great Lakes states experienced some of the largest weekly price declines, led by a 15-cent dip in Minnesota. Ohio’s average fell 11 cents to $3.11, and Michigan’s dropped 14 cents to $3.20.
The national average for regular unleaded is 18 cents lower than a month ago and 10 cents lower than a year ago. AAA said current prices are the lowest they’ve been on this date since 2010, when lingering effects of the recession suppressed demand and the national average was below $3. Diesel fuel prices averaged $3.73 on Thursday, 3 cents less than a week ago and 18 cents less than a year ago.
Hawaii had the most-expensive gas at $4.15 and remained the only state where regular unleaded averaged more than $4. Alaska was second-highest at $3.90. Among the Lower 48, most states with higher gas prices were congregated in the West, including California, at $3.65, and Oregon and Washington, at $3.58. Prices have dropped significantly in those states during the past month, falling 17 cents in California and 28 cents in Oregon and Washington.
That was in spite of reduced production for two weeks at ExxonMobil’s Torrance, Calif., refinery. AAA said issues have been resolved at that refinery and at two others in the Gulf Coast region, where gasoline production had fallen to its lowest level of the year. With those refineries now fully operational, AAA said pump prices should continue to fall in Gulf Coast states. Falling oil prices were adding to the downward pressure on pump prices. West Texas Intermediate crude oil, the U.S. benchmark, was trading around a 52-week low of less than $87 a barrel Thursday. Analysts attributed recent price declines to concerns that the global supply exceeded demand.
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