Gas prices dropped by a penny in Delaware this week amid news of the new Omicron Covid-19 variant and overseas travel restrictions announced by the Biden administration and other nations, Wilmington-based AAA Mid-Atlantic reported.
Crude oil prices have declined since the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and could potentially push fuel prices lower toward the end of the year.
Gas prices tend to go up rapidly when crude oil prices rise but fall slowly when the price of crude drops.
CURRENT AND PAST GAS PRICE AVERAGES
Regular Unleaded Gasoline
|
12/03/21 |
Week Ago |
Year Ago |
|
| National |
$3.37 |
$3.39 |
$2.16 |
| Pennsylvania |
$3.57 |
$3/59 |
$2.54 |
| Philadelphia
(5-county) |
$3.57 |
$3.58 |
$2.52 |
| South Jersey |
$3.36 |
$3.39 |
$2.27 |
| Delaware |
$3.32 |
$3.33 |
$2.36 |
| Crude Oil |
$67.78 per barrel (12/06/21) |
$68.15 per barrel (11/26/21) |
$46.26 per barrel (12/04/20) |
At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, WTI settled at $66.26, down $1.89 on the week but $20 more expensive than a year ago. Friday’s close marks the lowest settlement price in seven days and is $12 a barrel cheaper than the settlement price on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Should oil prices continue to drop, gas prices could slowly follow suit.
“It’s too soon to tell if fears of a global economic slowdown caused by the Omicron variant will push oil prices lower for the long term,” says Jana Tidwell, spokesperson for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “But for now, the upward pricing pressure due to tightened supply and high demand seems to have abated, and that will likely result in pump prices stabilizing.”
To check out gas prices in your area, log on to AAA’s Fuel Price Finder (http://www.AAA.com/fuelfinder).
The Fuel Price Finder showed the cheapest gas in the state was being pumped in Middletown at a price as low as $3.09 a gallon. Gasoline was selling at $3.20 a gallon at some stations in the Newark-New Castle areas, notably at the Costco and BJ’s membership clubs.
