The national gas price average has held relatively flat for the last two weeks. Today’s national average is $2.86. The Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest reports detail a drop in consumer gasoline demand and a build in gasoline inventories. In fact, this was the first increase in inventories in six-weeks with a substantial addition of 3 million bbl.
“With a flat national average, U.S. gasoline supply and demand suggest they are balancing,” said Jeanette Casselano, AAA spokesperson. “But that’s not to say that we could not see spikes in demand closer to Labor Day as motorists squeeze in those final road trips.”
On the week, states are seeing pump price jumps as high as eight cents and drops as much as a dime. Today’s gas price average is one-cent less than last week, three-cents less than one month ago and 51-cents more than this time last year.
West Coast
Pump prices in states in the West Coast region are among the highest in the country: Hawaii ($3.76), California ($3.61), Washington ($3.39), Alaska ($3.36), Oregon ($3.27), Nevada ($3.19) and Arizona ($2.89). When compared to last week, all pump prices in the region are down. Arizona (-2 cents) saw the largest drop.
According to EIA’s petroleum status report for the week ending on August 3, inventories of gasoline in the region grew by 200,000 bbl. They now sit at 30.4 million bbl, which is nearly four million bbl higher than total levels at this time last year. Growing supplies will provide a cushion for price fluctuations, which could help pump prices stabilize if there are any shocks to regional supply this week.
More info via AAA: https://gasprices.aaa.com/august-2018-national-average-remains-flat/
