Delaware drivers felt a price pinch at the pump in the past week week as much of the Eastern seaboard dealt with the shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline, Wilmington-based AAA Mid-Atlantic reported.
Delaware drivers ended the week 10 cents higher than one week ago as prices hovered around $3 a gallon.
Membership clubs, Costco, Sam’s, and BJ’s had the lowest prices, with regular selling at $2.74 a gallon as of Monday morning.
Convenience store-gas station chains posted $3 a gallon gas in some locations.
Gas price averages are likely to fluctuate in the coming days, and states where prices have spiked, will see some relief as the pipeline goes back into full operation.
Last week, Colonial Pipeline announced it had restarted its entire pipeline and commenced product delivery to all markets it serves.
As supply starts flowing, the industry and government focus on refueling communities that are low on fuel. This includes areas in the south, especially southern Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia, and Tennessee.
Delaware did not see the same supply pinch that led to panic buying thanks to other sources of supply that include refineries receiving crude oil via tanker.
Motorists in affected areas can expect to see a few more days of limited fuel supply.
Monday numbers
- Pennsylvania’s gas average is $3.14 today, unchanged overnight and up 6 cents in the last week.
- The Philadelphia (five-county) area gas average is $3.15 today, unchanged overnight and up six cents in the last week.
- New Jersey’s gas average is $3.07 today, unchanged overnight and up five cents in the last week.
- South Jersey’s gas average is $3.06 today, unchanged overnight and up seven cents in the last week.
- Delaware’s gas average is $2.98 today, unchanged overnight and up 10 cents in the last week.
- Dover’s gas average is $2.98 today, unchanged overnight and iup 10 cents n the last week.
- The National gas average is $3.04 today, unchanged overnight and up eight cents in the last week.
At the close of NYMEX trading Monday, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil settled at $65.56 per barrel, up more than 50 cents from last Friday’s close.
Crude prices see-sawed during the week as fears of an extended shutdown could have curtailed refinery activity.
Oil prices have come under pressure from surging coronavirus cases in India, and worries that the highly transmissible variant first detected there is spreading to other countries.
“Local drivers definitely saw an increase at the pump this week, and as the issues created by the Colonial Pipeline shutdown ease, prices could fluctuate,” said Jana L. Tidwell, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “It will take several days for the supply chain to resume normal operations, but this is positive news for motorists.”
To check out gas prices in your neighborhood, log on to AAA’s Fuel Price Finder (http://www.AAA.com/fuelfinder).
