Gas prices on the East Coast continued to fall over the past week as U.S. oil production increases, Wilmington-based AAA Mid-Atlantic reported.
The average gas price in Delaware dropped to $2.22 a gallon, a drop of eight cents below the previous week, but well above the dirt-cheap, $1.76 figure of a year ago.
The Capitol Trail-Kirkwood Highway area east of Newark continued to have the lowest prices at the pump with one station coming in at $2.10 a gallon.
The national average price of $2.28 per gallon represents a decrease of three cents per gallon on the week, two cents per gallon on the month, and an increase of 47 cents per gallon as compared to one year ago. The downward trend in pump prices is typical for winter months.
CURRENT AND PAST GAS PRICE AVERAGES
Regular Unleaded Gasoline (*indicates record high)
| 1/29/2017 | Week Ago | Year Ago | |
| National | $2.28 | $2.31 | $1.81 |
| Pennsylvania | $2.58 | $2.61 | $2.00 |
| Philadelphia (5-county) | $2.58 | $2.62 | $2.02 |
| South Jersey | $2.29 | $2.34 | $1.64 |
| Wilkes-Barre | $2.59 | $2.62 | $1.99 |
| Delaware | $2.22 | $2.30 | $1.76 |
| Crude Oil |
$53.17 per barrel |
$53.22 per barrel |
$42.87 per barrel |
At the close of Friday’s formal trading session on the NYMEX, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil closed down 5 cents over last week to settle at $53.17 per barrel.
At last Sunday’s OPEC meeting, energy ministers announced that the cartel has successfully limited oil output with participating countries cutting production by 1.5 million barrels per day.
Eleven of OPEC’s 13 members along with 11 non-OPEC countries struck an agreement last November to cut production collectively by 1.8 million barrels per day for the first six months of 2017.
U.S. oil production is partially offsetting OPEC’s cuts. This week’s EIA reports showed total U.S. crude output edged up by 17,000 barrels a day to 8.961 million barrels a day last week.
“Gas prices throughout the Mid-Atlantic region continue to follow the national trend of a slow, steady decrease,” said Jana L. Tidwell, manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Gas prices are expected to start rising again as refinery maintenance season shifts into high gear and the switch to summer-blend fuels occur in late winter.”
Analysts will keep a close eye on how OPEC output cuts and increased U.S. production impact the market moving forward. End-of-month industry shipping and export data, set to be released in the next two weeks, could determine if OPEC and non-OPEC producers are meeting their individual quotas, AAA Mid-Atlantic reported.
To check out prices in your AAA offers the Fuel Price Finder (http://www.AAA.com/fuelfinder),
