Gasoline prices in Delaware remained steady last week as prices went up nationwide on news of tightening supplies and strong demand.
The price of gasoline dropped about a penny in Delaware, Wilmington-based AAA Mid-Atlantic reported.
Overall, prices were still more than 40 cents a gallon lower than during the same period a year ago.
At the close of Friday’s formal trading session on the NYMEX, crude oil. closed up 45 cents to settle at $49.07 per barrel.
Supply outages in Nigeria and Canada have kept oil prices on an upward trend.
This week West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil settled above the $50 per barrel mark on Tuesday for the first time in 2016, and closed on Wednesday at an 11-month high of $51.23 per barrel.
By Thursday, the commodity closed slightly lower at $50.56 per barrel. On Thursday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said the global oil market is experiencing the largest amount of unplanned global supply disruptions since 2011.
“The increase in regional gas prices seems to have slowed with many areas unchanged or within a penny of prices last week,” said Jana L. Tidwell, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Even though the Mid-Atlantic region is now above the $2 per gallon mark, drivers are still seeing prices 30 to 40 cents less than this time last year. With most of the summer vacation season still ahead, gasoline consumption could reach a new record over the summer.”
Gasoline demand remains on target to reach unprecedented highs during this year’s summer driving season. The EIA’s weekly report showed that 200,000 more barrels of gasoline per day were supplied compared to the previous week.
As drivers start taking summer road trips at a record-setting pace, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration released a report citing U.S. driving reached 746 billion miles in the first three months of 2016, beating the previous record set last year.
Those wishing to check out local prices can use the AAA Fuel Price Finder (AAA.com/fuelfinder),
