Gas prices rose a couple of cents in Delaware during the past week, despite the seasonal drop in consumption.
The price at the pump in Delaware rose two cents a gallon from a week earlier. according to Wilmington-based AAA Mid-Atlantic.
Prices in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast have moved higher over the past week, which was probably due to Hurricane Matthew’s impact on the Southeast region and crude oil prices that rose above $50 a barrel.
CURRENT AND PAST GAS PRICE AVERAGES
Regular Unleaded Gasoline (*indicates record high)
| 10/16/2016 | Week Ago | Year Ago | |
| National | $2.24 | $2.26 | $2.28 |
| Pennsylvania | $2.40 | $2.38 | $2.35 |
| Philadelphia (5-county) | $2.37 | $2.36 | $2.31 |
| South Jersey | $1.98 | $1.99 | $1.94 |
| Wilkes-Barre | $2.39 | $2.38 | $2.36 |
| Delaware | $2.16 | $2.14 | $2.17 |
| Crude Oil |
$50.34 per barrel |
$49.81 per barrel |
$52.37 per barrel |
At the close of Friday’s formal trading session on the NYMEX, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) closed up 53 cents from last week to settle at $50.34 per barrel. Crude oil closed above $50 per barrel every day this week and is reaching levels seen a year ago.
Attention is now focused on whether the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will alter production.
OPEC members are scheduled to have a number of meetings before the end of November to hammer out a production agreement.
“Gas prices in much of the tri-state area have climbed a few cents in the last week,” says Jana L. Tidwell, manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Crude oil prices have closed above $50 all week as there are more positive signals that the members of OPEC will sign off on a deal to curb output and that increase can push prices at the pump higher.”
Although OPEC agreed to curb output, the impact of the agreement may not have had the impact the cartel hoped for because of high global oil inventories, AAA reported.
For local gas prices, log on to (http://www.AAA.com/fuelfinder).
