Midwest Gas Prices Volatile While National Average Remains Stable
CARS.COM — The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline budged by only fractions of a penny the past week, but motorists in some Midwestern states experienced price fluctuations of a nickel or more day-to-day. In areas of Illinois, Kentucky and Minnesota, pump prices would jump up several cents one day only to come back down a day or two later. In Michigan and Ohio, the average price of regular has shot up 10 cents since Monday.
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AAA said the supply of gas has dropped three weeks in a row in the Midwest at the same time production issues slowed output from a major BP refinery in Whiting, Ind., contributing to price volatility in the region. The net result for the week, though, was that the national average for regular was unchanged at $2.13 a gallon, according to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report. Premium gas also was unchanged at $2.64, while diesel fuel was up a penny to $2.30.
Gas prices had declined on a steady basis for weeks heading into August, but the average price for regular is down by only a penny since Aug. 4. As gas prices have stabilized, oil has rebounded. U.S. oil dipped below $40 in the first week of August but was trading at $47 early Thursday.
AAA said, however, that gasoline supplies on a national basis are higher than normal and low pump prices should continue into September and beyond.
“With gasoline supplies high and oil prices still relatively low, pump prices are likely to remain cheap through the rest of the summer and into the fall and could even dip back below $2 per gallon once the summer driving season is complete,” AAA said in a statement.
Patrick DeHaan, senior analyst at price tracker GasBuddy.com, also predicted that a national average of less than $2 is likely later this year.
“Barring a disruption to fuel supply as we enter the peak of hurricane season, gas prices nationally will spend more time below $2 per gallon this autumn and winter than they did last year,” DeHaan said in a blog post.
Pump prices are the lowest they’ve been at this time of year in more than a decade. A year ago, the national average for regular was $2.66 a gallon — 53 cents higher than now — and AAA said only a handful of stations were selling gas for less than $2. At this time in 2013, the national average was around $3.50 a gallon.
AAA estimated that more than 40 percent of stations are selling for less than $2 and only 8 percent for more than $2.50. One year ago, 56 percent of stations were selling gas for more than $2.50.
The average price for regular was below $2 in 11 states Thursday, according to AAA, with South Carolina the lowest at $1.83, followed by Alabama at $1.87, and Mississippi, New Jersey and Virginia at $1.91. Prices averaged more than $2.50 in four states: Alaska, $2.57; Washington, $2.58; California, $2.63; and Hawaii, $2.72.
