- Mike Schmid / Foter / CC BY-SA
The march toward $2 a gallon gasoline continues with independent stations in the Capitol Trail-Kirkwood Highway area between Newark and Wilmington offering prices as low as $2.05 a gallon.
The savings are trickling down to businesses as gas costs for truck and car fleets remain well below last year’s price. The average price in Delaware stood at $2.18 a gallon, down four cents during the past week, AAA Mid-Atlantic reported.
Diesel was selling at $2.36 early in the week, down a penny over the weekend.
Across the river in New Jersey, prices have dropped below $2. Gasoline taxes in New Jersey are well below those of neighboring states.
Dover reported prices as low as $2.10 a gallon, with beach areas seeing prices as low as $2.17.
The national average price for regular unleaded gasoline is $2.29 down about a quarter a gallon from a month ago, AAA Mid-Atlantic reported.
Local prices at the pump are available to business owners and managers at AAA’s Fuel Price Finder.
Motorists are saving $1.05 per gallon compared to a year ago, largely due to the relatively low price of crude oil and abundant petroleum supplies.
It is not uncommon for pump prices to decline during this time of year due to decreased driving demand and the cost savings associated with winter-blend gasoline, AAA noted.
In Delaware, the state’s only refinery had been running at reduced rates after an equipment failure and a small fire at a key unit. Delaware City Refinery owner PBF opted to move up scheduled maintenance work. The outage and reduced rates seemed to have little effect on gas prices.
“The gas price trend has become like a favorite song,” said Jana L. Tidwell, manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “For weeks now, drivers have been treated to the sweet sounds of reports that gas prices have dropped, but the tune of paying less at the pump never gets old.”
One key grade of crude oil closed the week at a price of $45.70 per barrel, 72 cents higher than last Friday’s close of $44.98. The global oil market appears to be holding steady, following the Federal Reserve’s decision to leave interest rates unchanged., AAA Mid-Atlantic reported. The Fed has kept interest rates near zero since 2008 in an effort to help stimulate economic growth. Raising U.S. interest rates often causes the U.S. dollar to gain strength, which makes oil more expensive for countries holding other currencies.
One factor that could limit price declines is a decision by refiners to do more fall maintenance work, after a busy summer that saw more people driving for business and pleasure. Barring any unexpected spikes in the price of crude, retail prices are not expected to climb this fall due to the market’s current oversupply, AAA Mid-Atlantic reported.
Prices could still be affected by hurricanes, although no storms hit the East Coast this year.
