Press release from AAA:
Today’s national average price for a gallon of gasoline is $3.17, up 2 cents in the past week. One year ago, the price was $2.20. The New York State average is $3.20 – up 1 cent from last week. A year ago, the NYS average was $2.27.
AAA Western and Central New York (AAA WCNY) reports the following averages:
- Batavia -- $3.17 (up 1 cent since last week)
- Buffalo -- $3.12 (no change since last week)
- Ithaca -- $3.17 (down 1 cent since last week)
- Rochester -- $3.16 (no change since last week)
- Rome -- $3.25 (no change since last week)
- Syracuse -- $3.16 (no change since last week)
- Watertown -- $3.22 (up 1 cent since last week)
The national average price for gasoline is on the rise after demand reached an all-time high. Summer travel is in full swing as many people look to vacation after the coronavirus pandemic put plans on hold for some time. A recent report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows that gas demand decreased from the all-time high of 10.04 million b/d to 9.28 million b/d.
The decrease, alongside a one million bbl increase in total domestic gasoline stocks to 236.5 million, has helped to slow pump price increases. However, with oil prices above $70 per barrel, pump prices will likely remain high (above $3 per gallon) throughout the busy summer driving season.
From GasBuddy:
"Gas prices across the country have been a bit sideways in the last week with a mixed bag of decreases and increases, but overall, the national average hasn't seen much meaningful direction as oil prices remain under their early-July levels thus far, thanks to OPEC coming to an agreement on production over the weekend," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy.
"OPEC's plan is to raise oil production by 400,000 bpd each month until 2022, at which time OPEC's oil production will be back at pre-COVID levels. It's a positive development in light of U.S. gasoline demand which last week rose nearly 2 percent, which should act as a loose ceiling on the price of oil, and could mean we're even closer to seeing a peak in the national average if we haven't already."
