Local and national gas prices continued to climb last week, a sign that 2018 may bring higher gas prices. Normally gas prices go down this time of year.
Prices varied in Delaware. Gas was available for $2.40 a gallon in the Elsmere and New Castle areas, with $2.45 prices at the pump reported in the Dover and Rehoboth Beach areas.
| 1/28/2017 | Week Ago | Year Ago | |
| National | $2.58 | $2.54 | $2.28 |
| Pennsylvania | $2.86 | $2.83 | $2.58 |
| Philadelphia (5-county) | $2.83 | $2.82 | $2.58 |
| Wilkes-Barre | $2.84 | $2.81 | $2.59 |
| Bloomsburg | $2.86 | $2.83 | $2.60 |
| South Jersey | $2.62 | $2.57 | $2.29 |
| Delaware | $2.51 | $2.48 | $2.22 |
| Crude Oil |
$66.14 per barrel
(Fri. 1/26/18 close) |
$63.37 per barrel
(Fri. 1/19/18 close) |
$55.60 per barrel |
At the close of NYMEX trading Friday, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil settled at $66.14 per barrel, $2.77 cents higher than the previous week and rising $2.24 since Monday’s close, Wilmington-based AAA-Mid Atlantic reported.
Market observers are looking for indications that growth in the global crude market has slowed, but the U.S. has bucked that trend.
U.S. producers are taking advantage of higher petroleum prices to grow global market share. This growth potentially stalls efforts by OPEC and major crude producers to cut production through the end of 2018.
“Since 2014, gas prices decreased as much as 20 cents in the first three weeks of the year,” said Jana L. Tidwell, manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “This year, gas prices are nine cents more than they were on Jan. 1, a possible indication that prices in 2018 will likely be more expensive than last year.”
Philadelphia Energy Solutions LLC, the East Coast’s largest refinery operator filed a bankruptcy plan in Delaware on Monday in working to deal with a heavy debt load.
Philadelphia refinery complex files for Chapter 11 protection
Since then, the company has secured funding, which helped ease some fears about the state of East Coast market supply ahead of the busy spring gasoline season.
To find out the gas price in your neighborhood, log on to AAA’s Fuel Price Finder (http://www.AAA.com/fuelfinder).
