Gas prices in Delaware remained steady as the July 4th holiday, Wilmington-based AAA Mid-Atlantic reported.
At the close of Friday’s formal trading session on the NYMEX, West Texas Intermediate Crude closed down 34 cents from last week to settle at $47.64 per barrel. WTI closing prices spent almost two weeks below $50.
Friday also saw a sharp downturn on the stock market after news of British voters deciding to leave the European Union rattled investors.
“Gasoline demand remains on track to set a new all-time high for the 2016 summer driving season,” said Jana L. Tidwell, manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Locally, total gasoline inventories are reportedly healthy and pump prices should remain relatively steady in the region throughout the summer.”
CURRENT AND PAST GAS PRICE AVERAGES
Regular Unleaded Gasoline (*indicates record high)
| 6/26/2016 | Week Ago | Year Ago | |
| National | $2.31 | $2.34 | $2.78 |
| Pennsylvania | $2.45 | $2.47 | $2.89 |
| Philadelphia (5-county) | $2.42 | $2.43 | $2.91 |
| South Jersey | $2.04 | $2.05 | $2.54 |
| Wilkes-Barre | $2.40 | $2.42 | $2.83 |
| Delaware | $2.18 | $2.19 | $2.70 |
| Crude Oil |
$47.64 per barrel |
$47.98 per barrel |
$62.23 per barrel |
Gas prices generally peak during the summer months, due to imbalances in supply and demand.
Unlike many recent years, supply appears to be meeting the growing demand and as a result prices remain lower than one year ago.
On the whole, refineries are keeping up with growing demand and the latest data from the U.S. EIA shows that the market is well supplied. Additionally, expectations of increased production from Western Canada and the U.S. are likely to keep global crude oil prices lower.
For information on local gas prices, click on AAA’s Fuel Price Finder (http://www.AAA.com/fuelfinder) .
