Gasoline prices continued to drop after the Labor Day weekend, due in part to a lack of hurricanes and tropical storms in the Gulf of Mexico.
The price at the pump for regular fell to $3.56 a gallon.The peak gas price in Delaware fell just short of the $5 a gallon mark.
The price at the pump is still 45 cents higher than during the same period a year ago.
AAA reported that Delaware ranked in the top 10 among states in the rate of weekly decline in gas prices. All states were on the East Coast.
Vermont (−15 cents), Connecticut (−14 cents), Rhode Island (−14 cents), Pennsylvania (−14 cents), Massachusetts (−13 cents), Maine (−13 cents), New York (−12 cents), Delaware (−12 cents), New Jersey (−12 cents) and Maryland (−12 cents).
In Delaware, gas prices below $3.45 a gallon were commonplace, according to AAA’s Fuel Price Finder.
Surprisingly enough, the lowest posted gas price was $3.30 a gallon at a Liberty Station on 4th Street in Wilmington. Gas prices are typically among the highest in the state in Wilmington.
Delaware’s Tuesday average gas prices
| Timeframe | Regular | Mid-Grade | Premium | Diesel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Current Avg. | $3.556 | $4.062 | $4.331 | $4.745 |
| Yesterday Avg. | $3.567 | $4.060 | $4.353 | $4.773 |
| Week Ago Avg. | $3.679 | $4.175 | $4.458 | $4.816 |
| Month Ago Avg. | $3.959 | $4.431 | $4.703 | $4.992 |
| Year Ago Avg. | $2.981 | $3.399 | $3.653 | $3.265 |
“According to weather analysts, it’s the first time in 25 years that a named Atlantic storm did not develop in August. That’s the good news,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, “but we still have another month of peak hurricane season, and these storms can affect gas prices by disrupting oil production and refining.”
Meanwhile, oil prices dipped on recent lackluster Chinese manufacturing output due to lower demand for goods and new Covid-19 outbreaks in critical industrial cities. This is fueling fears that oil demand could drop in China, the world’s largest importer of crude oil.
According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), domestic gas demand increased slightly from 8.43 million barrels a day to 8.59 million b/d last week. However, the rate is nearly 1 million b/d lower than the last week of August 2021.
Americans have altered their everyday driving habits by combining errands and finding other ways to conserve fuel.
As of Tuesday, crude oil prices were around $87 a barrel. During the spike in gas prices, crude oil, which accounts for 50 to 60% of the price at the pump, neared $120 a barrel.
