Gasoline prices in Delaware are now slightly higher than during the same period a year earlier. ‘
Figures from Wilmington-based AAA Mid-Atlantic showed the average price at the pump as of Sunday was near $2.11 a gallon, compared to 2.07 a year ago.
Gas at $2 a gallon was available in some areas that included the Capitol Trail-Kirkwood Highway area between Newark and Wilmington. One station in that area posted a price of $1.96 a gallon, according to the Gas Buddy website.
The price at the pump also dropped below $2 at a few unbranded stations in Dover.
Gas prices are lower in areas with competition from independents, with prices higher in neighborhoods dominated by Wawa, oil company majors like Shell, BP and Exxon, and to some extent Royal Farms stores.
Gasoline prices have been relatively steady during the past past week and month, but remain well below the all-time high of $4.06 in June 2008.
Crude oil remained below $50 a barrel with an OPEC deal to cut production possibly coming this week.
Saudi Arabia and other producers would like to see prices increase a few dollars a barrel, a figure that would stop short of creating a drilling boom here. The U.S. is moving toward self-sufficiency, with some help from neighboring Canada.
Whether OPEC and non-members, such as Russia, will cut production remains open to question. “The economies of Russia, Venezuela, and other producers has been hammered by low oil prices
The East Coast has been affected by outages on a key gasoline pipeline, as well as scheduled and unscheduled maintenance at refineries.
Delaware now has the lowest gas prices in the region, thanks to not joining its neighbors in increasing the gas tax. New Jersey, the state traditionally having the lowest gas taxes, saw a 23-cent jump this fall.
As of last week, the price of regular in New Jersey was 15 cents higher than in Delaware, with Pennsylvania a quarter higher and Maryland six cents above Delaware. All prices are for regulator unleaded.
