Gas price spike in Delaware appears to stick

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Delaware’s recent gas spike  appeared to stick, although some stations dropped their price by a few cents a gallon during the past week. 

Here are the weekend prices from Saturday to Monday from Wilmington-based  AAA Mid-Atlantic.

     
Pennsylvania
$3.07
$3.07
$3.07
New Jersey
$2.90
$2.89
$2.89
Delaware
$2.84
$2.85
$2.84
Maryland
$2.83
$2.83
$2.83
Philadelphia (5-county)
$3.08
$3.08
$3.07
South Jersey
$2.85
$2.85
$2.85
Bloomsburg
$3.08
$3.08
$3.07
Wilkes-Barre
$3.06
$3.06
$3.06
National
$2.85
$2.85
$2.85

A look at convenience store/gas stations, from AAA  and the  GasBuddy  site showed a number of locations had dropped prices by a couple of pennies from the $2.86 figure that popped up earlier in the week after prices jumped overnight by more than a dime a gallon.

Gas  prices are expected to drop in coming weeks.

The reasons for Delaware’s fuel price spike remain unexplained, although AAA indicated that the unplanned temporary shutdown of a refinery near New York City could have played a role. It is also possible that Delaware motorists are less inclined to shop for the best price, thanks in part to the state’s low gas tax. 

Meanwhile, gas prices in Maryland remained identical to Delaware, even though the state’s gas tax is a dime higher than in Delaware. 

CURRENT AND PAST GAS PRICE AVERAGES
Regular Unleaded Gasoline (*indicates record high)

 

9/7/18

Week Ago

Year Ago

National

$2.85

$2.84

$2.67

Pennsylvania

$3.07

$3.04

$2.91

Philadelphia
(5-county)

$3.07

$3.04

$2.95

South Jersey

$2.85

$2.78

$2.74

Delaware

$2.84

$2.73

$2.70

Crude Oil

$67.75
per barrel
(Fri. 9/7/18 close)

$69.80
per barrel
(Fri. 8/31/18 close)

$49.94
per barrel
(9/8/17)

 

At the close of NYMEX trading Friday, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil settled at $67.75 per barrel, down $2.05 from the previous week. 

The Energy Information Administration’s weekly petroleum status report showed a larger-than-expected draw of crude inventories and a build-up in gasoline supplies for the week ending Aug. 31.

Oil prices are likely to remain strong amid signs that Iranian crude exports are declining at a faster rate than expected, in the run-up to November when U.S. sanctions on the country’s oil industry take effect.

“Heavy demand caused gas prices to increase slightly following the Labor Day weekend, however with summer driving season behind us, demand is expected to decrease in the coming weeks,” said Jana L. Tidwell, manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Motorists can expect to see gas prices steadily decline once demand begins to drop.”

Gas price relief will come with the switch to winter blends.   Refineries make the switch to winter-blend gasoline in September, with the less-expensive gasoline reaching motorists by September 15.  The annual switch could save motorists 10  cents a gallon or more at the pump.

Last week’s  Delaware price spike appears to have been led by Wawa and Royal Farms. The two privately owned companies have grabbed a large chunk of Delaware’s motor fuel business through aggressive expansion in all corners of the state.  

The competition produced a price  war of sorts in Coastal Sussex County, at one time one of the most expensive areas of the state when it came to filling up at the pump.

 Despite the summer beach rush, gas prices in the area were among the lowest in the state as the two chains squared off.  To check out prices in your neighborhood log onto the  (http://www.AAA.com/fuelfinder).