A surprise buildup in crude oil supply, a decrease in gasoline supply and a continued high demand for gasoline is leading to volatile gas prices.
Gas prices in Delaware rose four cents a gallon over the weekend. That was on top of a three-cent increase during the previous week, Wilmington-based AAA Mid-Atlantic reported.
Beachgoers were seeing bargains, with stations in the Lewes-Rehoboth area posting prices as low as $2.55 a gallon. Upstate, prices were as low as $2.75, according to AAA’s Fuel Price Finder. (See link below).
Coastal Delaware has seen an influx of Royal Farms and Wawa stores, with price competition apparent, even during the busy season.
Delaware is again seeing a 10-cent or more advantage on the gas tax not being reflected at the pump. Neighboring Maryland and New Jersey showed average gas prices that are only a few cents higher than Delaware. Both states have gas taxes that are 10 cents or more higher than the rate in Delaware.
Pennsylvania has the highest gas tax in the nation.
AAA expects gas prices to trend higher and to remain unpredictable heading into the final weeks of the summer driving season.
|
|
Sunday
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Saturday
|
Friday
|
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Pennsylvania
|
$3.07
|
$3.07
|
$3.07
|
|
New Jersey
|
$2.91
|
$2.91
|
$2.91
|
|
Delaware
|
$2.83
|
$2.83
|
$2.79
|
|
Maryland
|
$2.85
|
$2.85
|
$2.83
|
|
Philadelphia (5-county)
|
$3.09
|
$3.09
|
$3.09
|
|
South Jersey
|
$2.84
|
$2.84
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$2.84
|
|
Bloomsburg
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$3.07
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$3.07
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$3.07
|
|
Wilkes-Barre
|
$3.05
|
$3.06
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$3.05
|
At the close of NYMEX trading Friday, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil settled at $68.58 per barrel, down 11 cents from last Friday.
A surprise buildup in the crude oil supply kept crude prices below $70 for part of the week but a price increase took hold Thursday after a private report showed crude inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub dropped more than one million barrels in less than a week.
The tightening domestic crude supply, robust global gasoline demand, and high global crude demand will likely continue into the near future, leading to strength in crude oil prices, which are $18 per barrel more compared to last year.
“Motorists should expect gas prices to remain volatile and possibly trend higher in the weeks ahead, ahead of the Labor Day holiday,” said Jana L. Tidwell, manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Regionally, prices are on the rise but are not at the point where drivers will cancel any final summer road trip plans.”
Crude oil prices continue to be influenced by a variety of geopolitical factors. The ongoing trade dispute between the U.S. and China had raised concerns over the potential for a fall in global oil demand.
In addition, political instability in Libya and Venezuela and recent U.S. actions of pulling out of a nuclear deal in Iran means there is less oil available.
To check out gas prices in your neighborhood, log on to AAA’s Fuel Price Finder (http://www.AAA.com/fuelfinder).
