Gas prices remained stable last week in Delaware at $2.18 a gallon.
The Capitol Trail-Kirkwood Highway between Wilmington and Newark was the cheapest spot for gas with prices as low as $2.06 a gallon. The area has a sizable number of gas stations not affiliated with big convenience store chains or major oil companies.
While prices have affected by a decision by OPEC and nonmembers to limit production, higher U.S. production and sluggish demand have offset those pressures.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest weekly estimates of U.S. gasoline demand shows that January 2017 figures are down 6 percent from January 2016 and are at their lowest standing for the first month of the year since 2012, according to a report from Wilmington-based AAA Mid-Atlantic.
Tough weather in some areas, as well as more fuel-efficient new vehicles hitting the highway, are holding down demand.
CURRENT AND PAST GAS PRICE AVERAGES
Regular Unleaded Gasoline (*indicates record high)
| 2/12/2017 | Week Ago | Year Ago | |
| National | $2.28 | $2.27 | $1.70 |
| Pennsylvania | $2.53 | $2.55 | $1.94 |
| Philadelphia (5-county) | $2.53 | $2.54 | $1.96 |
| South Jersey | $2.25 | $2.25 | $1.55 |
| Wilkes-Barre | $2.55 | $2.57 | $1.92 |
| Delaware | $2.18 | $2.18 | $1.69 |
| Crude Oil |
$53.86 per barrel |
$53.83 per barrel |
$40.97 per barrel |
At the closing of Friday’s formal trading session on the NYMEX, WTI was up three cents to settle at $53.86 per barrel, $12.89 above one year ago. At that time, crude oil prices crashed, due to excess production. Producers in the U.S. have worked to lower costs and improve efficiency in the oil fields.
Of late, giants like ExxonMobil have been buying up reserves in oil-rich areas of Texas and New Mexico in anticipation of higher prices. Crude oil prices of more than $50 a barrel have also drilling to rebound.
The potential for more U.S. oil production has kept a ceiling on oil prices and diminished the impact of efforts by OPEC and non-OPEC countries to cut production.Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute reported the second-largest weekly inventory build ever in the history of records, at 14.227 million barrels, versus expectations of a 2.38-million-barrel increase.
On Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute reported the second-largest weekly inventory build ever in the history of records, at 14.227 million barrels, versus expectations of a 2.38-million-barrel increase.
“The increase in U.S. domestic oil production has helped to counter-balance OPEC’s production cuts, sending gas prices down slowly,” said Jana L. Tidwell, manager of public and government affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “As refiners slowly use up all of their cheaper winter-blend gasoline, summer-blend gas will take its place, likely bringing the decline in prices we’ve seen to an end.”
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) forecasts U.S. regular gasoline retail prices to average $2.39 per gallon in 2017 and $2.44 per gallon in 2018.
The EIA also expects West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices to average about $54 per barrel in 2017. U.S. crude oil production averaged an estimated 8.9 million barrels per day in 2016. U.S crude oil production is forecast to average 9 million barrels per day in 2017 and 9.5 million barrels per day in 2018.
Click here to find gasoline prices in your neighborhood from the AAA Fuel Price Finder.
