CASPER, Wyo. — Although national gas prices fell by less than half a penny from last week, Natrona County drivers are seeing an average price that’s 7 cents lower. That’s enough to give the county the cheapest average in Wyoming.
For the second straight week, the nation’s average price of gasoline decreased, falling 0.3 cents from a week ago to $3.40 per gallon yesterday, according to compiled GasBuddy data. The national average is up 7.8 cents from a month ago but down 83.0 cents from than a year ago, GasBuddy said.
The national average price of diesel has fallen 5.9 cents in the last week to stand at $4.19 per gallon, 92.7 cents lower than one year ago.
“The national average price of gasoline has seen little overall change over the last week, with big decreases in states like Colorado and Ohio offset by large increases in Arizona and North Carolina. While more states saw declines than increases, any downward trends are still likely to be temporary and not necessarily long lasting,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
“While Colorado’s refinery issues are largely moving into the rearview mirror, challenges making the transition to summer gasoline in Arizona are leading to tight supply and accelerating prices. Motorists in some areas may be on the receiving end of good news, while others may not as we hit the second half of refinery maintenance season. You never know what the closing moments will look like, and motorists could be in for a dramatic ride if issues develop.”
AAA reported the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline at $3.43 per gallon, roughly the same as a week ago, and placed Wyoming’s average lower at $3.32, down 5 cents. Natrona County’s average gas price was $3.08 per gallon, the cheapest average in the state, according to AAA.
The cheapest price offered by local stations on Tuesday was $2.95 at Sam’s Club, 4600 E. 2nd St., and Ridley’s Family Market, 300 SE Wyoming Blvd., followed by $3 at Exxon, 400 Valley Drive, according to GasBuddy reports.
Also included in GasBuddy’s report Monday:
OIL PRICES
As concerns over the recent banking collapse fade, oil has seen some strength return, as Chinese consumption has also continued to rebound. In early Monday trade, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 90 cents to $70.16 per barrel, rising over $4 from last Monday’s $65.91 per barrel level. Brent crude oil has rallied alongside, and was up 91 cents in early Monday trade to $75.90 per barrel, a nearly $4 rise over last week’s $72.27 per barrel start. With an announcement that beleaguered Silicon Valley Bank was being sold to First Citizens Bank, confidence appeared to be turning a corner that the crisis wouldn’t continue to spread. In early trade, First Republic stock shares were up some 25% as some stability returned to the sector, driving optimism that the U.S. wouldn’t endure a more significant economic slowdown.OIL AND REFINED PRODUCTS
Last week’s report from the Energy Information Administration showed a mild 1.1 million barrel rise in U.S. oil inventories, while domestic oil production rose to 12.3 million barrels and the nation’s SPR was unchanged. Gasoline, however, saw a significant drop of 6.4 million barrels, however, such spring drops are common as refiners continue to purge remaining winter gasoline ahead of key dates. Distillate inventories also saw a large 3.3 million barrel drop, while implied gasoline demand shot up 366,000bpd to 8.96 million barrels. Refinery utilization continued its steady recovery, rising 0.4 percentage points to 88.6%. Exports remained high, with over 80 million barrels of oil and refined products leaving U.S. shores.FUEL DEMAND
According to GasBuddy demand data driven by its Pay with GasBuddy fuel card, U.S. retail gasoline demand saw a rise of 0.14% last week (Sun-Sat), which on the surface was much more tame than expected. Broken down by PADD region, demand rose 0.9% in PADD 1, fell 0.1% in PADD 2, fell 0.6% in PADD 3, fell 1.2% in PADD 4, and fell 0.4% in PADD 5.GAS PRICE TRENDS
The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.19 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $3.29, $3.39, $3.09, and $2.99 rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. gas price is $3.27 per gallon, down 2 cents from last week and about 13 cents lower than the national average.
The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.61 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.90 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average prices: Oklahoma ($2.95), Mississippi ($2.96), and Arkansas ($3.00).
The states with the highest average prices: Hawaii ($4.79), California ($4.76), and Nevada ($4.19).DIESEL PRICE TRENDS
The most common U.S. diesel price stood at $3.99 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $3.89, $3.79, $4.09, and $4.19 rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. diesel price is $4.02 per gallon, down 7 cents from last week and about 16 cents lower than the national average for diesel.
Diesel prices at the top 10% of stations in the country average $5.25 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.50 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average diesel prices: Oklahoma ($3.65), Texas ($3.69), and Kansas ($3.84).
The states with the highest average diesel prices: Hawaii ($5.89), California ($5.39), and Maine ($5.09).
