Pa. Gas Prices Dip as Oil Prices Plunge

The average price of gasoline across Western Pennsylvania is two cents cheaper this week at $2.122 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

Mid-Atlantic and Northeast state averages are two to six cents cheaper on the week. With the latest declines, only four states in the region carry averages of more than $2 per gallon: New York ($2.22), Washington, D.C. ($2.16), Pennsylvania ($2.08) and New Jersey ($2.05). At $1.68, North Carolina has the lowest state average in the region.

Increasing by 1.3 million barrels, total regional gasoline stocks now sit at a healthy 71.8 million barrels. Inventory has bumped up for a month by a substantial 11 million barrels. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) levels were reported at 60 million barrels for the week ending March 20. Given the substantial amount of gasoline inventory, regional refinery utilization has plummeted to 39 percent.

This week’s average prices

Western Pennsylvania Average – $2.122

Average price during the week of April 13, 2020 – $2.147

Average price during the week of April 22, 2019 – $3.036

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:

$2.090 Altoona

$2.226 Beaver

$2.198 Bradford

$2.098 Brookville

$2.064 Butler

$2.070 Clarion

$2.100 Du Bois

$2.106 Erie

$2.116 Greensburg

$2.109 Indiana

$2.192 Jeannette

$2.118 Kittanning

$2.149 Latrobe

$1.953 Meadville

$2.232 Mercer

$1.789 New Castle

$2.225 New Ken.

$2.199 Oil City

$2.212 Pittsburgh

$1.929 Sharon

$2.240 Uniontown

$2.199 Warren

$2.184 Washington

On the National Front

On the week, the national gas price average decreased by a nickel pushing the year-over-year savings to $1.03 per gallon. Today, 20 states have pump price averages that are $1 per gallon or more cheaper compared to last year, with another dozen states within a dime of reaching this mark. One in four U.S. gas stations are selling gas for $1.49 or less.

Prices may continue to drop in the week ahead, as regional refinery rates drop and the price of crude oil plummets. On April 20, the price dropped into negative territory. This drastic drop is likely to be reflected at the pump in the days ahead.

Crude prices were volatile last week in the wake of a historic 9.7-million barrels per day crude oil production reduction agreement for May and June 2020 between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, including Russia. As oil inventories continue to grow around the globe and crude demand falls worldwide, crude prices have dropped dramatically as the public health, economic and financial impact of COVID-19 increases. Crude prices will likely remain volatile this week as the market continues to assess how low prices could fall during the ongoing pandemic.

On the week, U.S. gasoline demand was stable at 5.1 million barrels-per-day as refinery rates dipped down to 69%, a level not reported by the EIA in more than a decade. Despite lower run rates amid low demand, gasoline stocks increased. Total U.S. stock levels measure at a record 262 million barrels – the highest weekly domestic stock level ever recorded by EIA, since it began reporting the data in 1990.

Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at GasPrices.AAA.com.

About AAA East Central: AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 78 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members. News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.