For the second straight week, the nation’s average price of gasoline has declined, falling 3.8 cents from a week ago to $3.03 per gallon yesterday according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 12 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country. The national average is down 12.2 cents from a month ago and 22.0 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 5.6 cents in the last week and stands at $3.90 per gallon—75 cents lower than one year ago.
“Sluggish gasoline demand has led to the national average easing again and brings back the potential for the national average to drift under $3 per gallon for the first time since 2021,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “With a record rise in gasoline inventories last week as demand was anemic during the holidays, motorists have provided the catalyst for falling prices. If demand remains weak, gasoline prices could fall further. In addition, refinery issues in California have also eased, which will soon cause prices to decline in California, Nevada, and Arizona, providing momentum for a possible run at a $2.99 national average. However, the better it gets now, the more bumpy and sharp the rise could be ahead of the spring, as prices could start their rise of 35-85 cents per gallon around mid-February.”
OIL PRICES
Crude oil prices were down sharply in early Monday trade after the Saudis cut their official price for crude oil to all regions, pushing WTI crude to fall $2.41 per barrel to $71.40 in early trade, down from last week’s $73.39 per barrel fetch. Brent crude oil was also seeing heavy losses, down $2.38 to $76.38 per barrel, also down from last week’s $78.78 per barrel start. Recent weeks have seen oil prices somewhat range bound in the low-to-mid $70 per barrel range, digesting slowing demand and economic concerns, alternating to optimism and concerns over Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
OIL AND REFINED PRODUCTS
Last week’s report from the Energy Information Administration showed a large drop in crude oil inventories, which fell 5.5 million barrels as refiners cranked up output ahead of year-end to avoid a larger tax bill. The SPR also saw a 1.1 million barrel rise as further purchases were made, and new solicitations offered. The drop in oil pushed gasoline inventories to skyrocket some 10.9 million barrels, the largest weekly rise on record, leading gasoline inventories to a 14.3-million-barrel year-on-year gain. Distillate inventories also surged 10.1 million barrels, which are now up nearly 9 million barrels from a year ago. Implied gasoline demand, a proxy for retail consumption, slipped below 8 million barrels for the weakest reading in nearly a year, while refinery utilization rose 0.2 percentage points to 93.5%, a very high seasonal number.
FUEL DEMAND
According to GasBuddy demand data driven by its Pay with GasBuddy™ fuel card, U.S. retail gasoline demand saw an increase of 2.3% for the week ending January 7 (Sun-Sat), as demand begins to normalize from the holidays. Broken down by PADD region, demand rose 4.2% in PADD 1, rose 3.8% in PADD 2, fell 2.9% in PADD 3, rose 0.1% in PADD 4, and rose 0.8% in PADD 5. GasBuddy models U.S. gasoline demand at 8.04 million barrels per day.
GAS PRICE TRENDS
The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $2.99 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $2.89, $2.79, $3.19, and $2.69 rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. gas price is $2.89 per gallon, unchanged from last week and about 14 cents lower than the national average.
The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.45 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.43 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average prices: Oklahoma ($2.51), Arkansas ($2.60), and Wisconsin ($2.62).
The states with the highest average prices: California ($4.63), Hawaii ($4.57), and Washington ($4.02).
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, $3.69, and $3.59 rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. diesel price is $3.79 per gallon, down 10 cents from last week and about 11 cents lower than the national average for diesel.
Diesel prices at the top 10% of stations in the country average $5.02 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.24 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average diesel prices: Texas ($3.42), Oklahoma ($3.43), and Mississippi ($3.52).
The states with the highest average diesel prices: Hawaii ($5.56), California ($5.35), and Washington ($4.84).