Local gas prices continue falling, as do prices around the country.
Photo contribute by AAA
ELIZABETHTOWN — Drivers in Bladen County have seen lower gas prices leading into the holiday weekend — lower even than most of the country, according to gas prices watchers.
The average per gallon price of gasoline in Bladen County on Monday was $2.87, slightly higher at Elizabethtown stations where the average price per gallon was $2.92.
Across the western border in Robeson County the average price was $2.78 per gallon. In Lumberton, the average price was $2.69 per gallon, the lowest in the region.
Statewide the average price per gallon stood at $2.89 on Monday. The U.S. average, while lower than it’s been in weeks, remained above the $3 threshold at $3.03 per gallon.
Still, the average price per gallon nationally has fallen for the 13th week in a row, falling 8.6 cents from a week ago to $3.03 per gallon, according to national price watcher GasBuddy, which compiles data from more than 12 million individual price reports covering more than 150,000 gas stations across the country. The national average is down 26.9 cents from a month ago and 6.8 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 9.2 cents in the last week and stands at $3.99 per gallon— 80 cents lower than one year ago.
“As the nation’s average price of gasoline has fallen for the 13th straight week, we’re on the cusp of potentially seeing a $2.99 per gallon average for the first time in years, most welcome just in time for the Christmas holiday,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “While the declines may soon come to an end as the price of oil has rebounded from recent lows, we could see a gentler 2024 at the pump for motorists. Gasoline could see its average fall below $3 this week while the price of diesel has just fallen below $4 for the first time since July, according to De Haan. “Also very welcome news for the economy as nearly all goods are impacted by the price of diesel,” he said.
“All in all, the news continues to be good in terms of fuel prices as we enter into the closing innings of 2023,” De Haan said.
Oil Prices
After falling for some seven weeks, oil prices have finally rebounded after dovish comments from the Federal Reserve hinting that interest rate cuts are likely to start in 2024, boosting optimism that oil demand will grow next year. In addition, refined product prices saw modest recovery after murmurs that the low-priced environment was leading refiners to trim output. In early Monday trade, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil was up $1.73 per barrel to $73.16, a rise from last Monday’s $71.64 level. Brent crude was also up some $1.84 to $78.39 per barrel, up from last Monday’s $76.29 start. Other notable market concerns were oil shipments through the Red Sea as attacks from Houthi militants continued to impact security on carriers, and insurance providers were looking to reduce risk. Such a move could see crude shipments taking longer to reach their destinations, potentially impacting the pace of resupply in the weeks ahead.
Oil and refined products
Last week’s report from the Energy Information Administration showed a 4.3 million barrel drop in crude oil inventories, likely ahead of the close of 2023 to avoid Uncle Sam. Domestic crude oil production was unchanged at 13.1 million barrels per day, while the SPR was also unchanged at 351.9 million barrels. Gasoline inventories inched up by 400,000 barrels, but are 2% below the five-year seasonal average. Distillates picked up 1.5 million barrels, but remain about 12% below the five-year seasonal average. Implied gasoline demand, EIA’s proxy for retail consumption, rose 394,000 barrels to 8.86 million per day, well ahead of GasBuddy’s read of detail consumption. Refinery utilization slipped 0.3 percentage points to 90.2%.
Fuel Demand
According to GasBuddy demand data driven by its Pay with GasBuddy™ fuel card, U.S. retail gasoline demand saw an increase of 2.0% for the week ending December 16 (Sun-Sat). Broken down by PADD region, demand rose 0.5% in PADD 1, rose 3.4% in PADD 2, rose 0.7% in PADD 3, rose 2.3% in PADD 4, and rose 3.1% in PADD 5. GasBuddy models U.S. gasoline demand at 8.533 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, $2.69, and $2.59 rounding out the top five most common prices.
The median U.S. gas price is $2.88 per gallon, down 11 cents from last week and about 15 cents lower than the national average.
The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.45 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.37 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average prices: Texas ($2.48), Oklahoma ($2.53), and Mississippi ($2.56).
The states with the highest average prices: Hawaii ($4.67), California ($4.58), and Washington ($4.15).
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 $3.89 per gallon, down 10 cents from last week and about 10 cents lower than the national average for diesel.
Diesel prices at the top 10% of stations in the country average $5.19 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.22 per gallon.
The states with the lowest average diesel prices: Texas ($3.37), Mississippi ($3.54), and Oklahoma ($3.54).
The states with the highest average diesel prices: Hawaii ($5.66), California ($5.49), and Washington ($4.95).