Gas Prices

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Grocery prices may still be high but gas prices are headed lower

Several factors have combined to provide some relief at the pump

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While inflation is pushing some prices higher, gasoline prices are bucking the trend. The national average of regular gas is nine cents lower than a month ago and 37 cents a gallon cheaper than 12 months ago. 

For the second straight week, GasBuddy reports the national average price of gasoline fell over the previous week, falling 5.3 cents compared to a week ago, and stands at $3.07 per gallon. That’s based on data compiled from more than 12 million individual price rep...

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    Carmakers get more time to phase out gas cars

    The Biden administration confronts the reality of slow EV sales

    The Biden administration, accepting the reality that consumers are not flocking to buy electric vehicles (EV), has backed away from its aggressive timeline to phase out gasoline-powered vehicles from America’s roads.

    The administration has announced a new set of standards that allows carmakers more time to meet emission standards. Now, carmakers will be asked to produce a fleet of cars and trucks that will cut greenhouse emissions in half by 2032.

    A year ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposal that would have required automakers to make EVs account for 67% of their sales of light-duty vehicles and 46% of medium-duty sales by 2032.

    What’s changed? Mostly pushback from the auto industry and its labor unions, a core Democratic Party constituency. They point out that EVs make up about 6% of U.S. vehicle sales and have recently plateaued.

    Automakers were the first to respond, cutting back or delaying EV production. Ford is a prime example. 

    After reporting that it was losing $1 billion a quarter on EV production, Ford announced it was postponing $12 billion in EV production. GM, meanwhile, scaled back its goal to build 400,000 EVs through the middle of this year. Volkswagen has ditched plans to build a $2 billion EV factory in Germany.

    Used EV prices are falling

    While EVs cost more than their gasoline-powered counterparts, even with government subsidies, they don’t cost as much as they once did – especially used EVs. A recent study by iSeeCars.com shows the average used car price is down 3.6% in the last 12 months but used EV prices have plunged 31.8%. Yet those falling prices have failed to create a surge in demand.

    In a recent report, NPR attributed the slowdown in EV sales to a gap between early adopters, those enthusiastic about EVs, and the rest of consumers. The question is, how long will it take for that gap to disappear, if ever?

    It didn’t happen soon enough for Hertz. In 2022, the rental car company announced it would spend $4.2 billion before the end of that year to purchase a fleet of Teslas. But it didn’t ask its customers first.

    In January, Hertz said it would sell 20,000 EVs and replace them with gasoline-powered cars. Not long afterward, it fired its CEO.

    The Biden administration, accepting the reality that consumers are not flocking to buy electric vehicles (EV), has backed away from its aggressive timeline...

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    Gasoline prices are marching higher again

    Industry analysts don’t expect prices to pull back anytime soon

    Consumers dealing with sticky inflation for a number of everyday purchases are finding no relief at the gas pump. Fuel prices have risen sharply over the last four weeks.

    According to AAA, the national average price of regular gas is $3.49 a gallon. That's about 10 cents higher than a week ago but the price is nearly 20 cents higher than a month ago. A 15 gallon fillup costs $3 more than it did in mid-February.

    The only saving grace is the fact that regular gas costs about the same as it did a year ago. Even so, nearly everything else costs more.

    “The national average price of gasoline has risen for the third straight week,” Patrick DeHaan, head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy, wrote in a post on X. “We're about two cents above a year ago, and are likely to keep heading higher.”

    DeHaan points out that the U.S. has entered the period when oil refineries begin making summer-grade fuel, which is more costly than the gasoline used during the winter months. At the same time, oil prices have been moving steadily higher.

    Now that spring has arrived, motorists are driving a little more. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports gasoline demand is slowly rising. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks recently dropped by 5.6 million barrels to 234.1 million barrels, which is also putting pressure on prices.

    Prices are rising fastest in Michigan. The statewide average price of regular gas there has increased by 10 cents in the last week and 40 cents a gallon over the last month.

    Here are the states with the most expensive regular gasoline:

    California$4.90
    Hawaii$4.69
    Washington$4.30
    Nevada$4.19
    Oregon$4.07
    Alaska$3.80
    Arizona$3.71
    Illinois$3.71
    Michigan$3.65
    Pennsylvania $3.58

    These are the states with the lowest prices for regular gasoline:

    Mississippi $3.03
    Texas$3.06
    Colorado$3.06
    Oklahoma$3.07
    Tennessee$3.09
    Wyoming$3.11
    Louisiana$3.13
    Kentucky$3.13
    Kansas$3.15
    Nebraska$3.16

    Consumers dealing with sticky inflation for a number of everyday purchases are finding no relief at the gas pump. Fuel prices have risen sharply over the l...

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    Get ready for higher gasoline prices

    A couple of new factors may push prices at the pump higher

    Inflation has fallen in recent months and one reason may be falling gasoline prices. But that might be about to change.

    According to AAA, the national average price of regular gas is $3.15 a gallon, five cents higher than seven days ago. The average price is up six cents a gallon in the last month.

    “We are in that time of year where pump prices begin to heat up, usually peaking around July,” said Andrew Gross, AAA’s spokesperson. “But unless something shocks the global oil market and causes prices to spike, the national average for a gallon of gas will probably stagger higher, with some flat days or even small price dips along the way.”

    But something could be lurking that could cause prices to escalate faster than expected. Hostilities are increasing in the Middle East, and not just between Israel and Hamas. The conflict in Yemen is drawing in U.S. forces because of threats to shipping – primarily oil shipments.

    Closer to home, there is a major outage at BP’s Whiting refinery, halting gasoline production. Patrick DeHaan, head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy, says it is likely fuel production will stop for a couple of weeks, though he says that assessment could change with more information.. At the same time, he says gasoline demand is rising.

    Where prices are rising the fastest

    Prices are rising the most in the Southeast, which normally has the cheapest gas. Prices are already rising in the Midwest, a region that may feel the brunt of the refinery closure. Here are the states in the Southeast and Midwest that have seen the sharpest one-week increase in prices at the pump:

    • West Virginia    + $.10

    • Minnesota    + $.09

    • Alabama    + $.08

    • Virginia    + $.05

    • Michigan    + $.04

    Wyoming has the cheapest gas prices in the nation, with a statewide average price of regular at $2.68 a gallon. Oklahoma is second with an average price of $2.70.

    California continues to have the highest gas prices in the nation. The statewide average for regular gas is $4.56 a gallon.

    Inflation has fallen in recent months and one reason may be falling gasoline prices. But that might be about to change.According to AAA, the national a...

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    Gas prices have dropped every day for the last two months

    More than 20,000 stations are selling gas at or below $2.75 a gallon

    Drivers are receiving a nice gift just before the holidays. The price of gasoline has fallen to its lowest level this year after dropping every day for the last two months.

    AAA’s national average price of regular gas is $3.24 a gallon, 26 cents cheaper than a month ago and 30 cents less than last year at this time. But that’s just the average. There are plenty of places where you can find cheaper fuel.

    “GasBuddy now counts over 20,000 stations that are selling gasoline at $2.75 per gallon or less,” GasBuddy’s head of Petroleum Analysis, Patrick DeHaan, posted on X.

    For example, the statewide average price of regular in Texas has fallen to $2.71 a gallon. The average price in Mississippi is $2.76 and $2.78 in Georgia. Eleven other states have average gas prices below $3 a gallon.

    Gas remains expensive in a handful of states. California’s average price of regular is $4.88 a gallon, but a month ago it was $5.30 a gallon. The average price is $4.72 in Hawaii and $4.38 in Washington. Again, gas prices are much lower than they were a month ago.

    Falling demand

    One reason prices are falling is motorists are driving less. Data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) show gas demand decreased from 9.49 to 8.95 million barrels a day recently.

    Another reason for drivers’ good fortune is the decline in oil prices. World oil prices are near their lowest levels of the year, lowering costs for refiners, who have begun producing cheaper winter grades of gasoline.

    But it’s not clear if oil prices will remain low for long. Goldman Sachs says it expects an extension of the unilateral production cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia to last through the first quarter of next year and could even cut more deeply.

    Drivers are receiving a nice gift just before the holidays. The price of gasoline has fallen to its lowest level this year after dropping every day for the...

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    Here are the states where gas prices are falling fastest

    Rising interest rates could push prices lower everywhere

    The price of gasoline is tumbling and you can credit the bond market. As the yield on U.S. Treasury bonds has risen in recent days, gas prices have fallen.

    In a post on X, Patrick DeHaan, head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy, notes the connection.

    “The surging cost of borrowing and bonds are pushing oil off a cliff… and that’s good news if you’re a fan of falling #gasprices with RBOB (Reformulated Blendstock for Oxygenated Blending) down a staggering 16c/gal!” he wrote.

    DeHaan notes that the price is falling, even though GasBuddy data for the first part of the week indicates U.S. gasoline demand is up 2.8% from the previous week.

    Rising interest rates on government bonds are seen as an indicator that the economy may slow and reduce demand for oil. As oil prices fall, so do prices at the pump.

    AAA reports the national average price of regular gas is $3.74 a gallon, nine cents a gallon less than seven days ago and six cents less than a month ago. A number of states have seen prices fall even more.

    The 10 states where gas prices have fallen the most

    Nevada  -$.23
    California -$.20
    Indiana  -$.15
    Iowa -$.15
    Deleware -$.14
    Ohio -$.12
    Wisconsin -$.12
    Montana -$.12
    Minnesota -$.12
    Oklahoma -$.11

    Despite the big one-week drop, California still has the most expensive gas in the nation. Georgia has the cheapest.

    The price of gasoline is tumbling and you can credit the bond market. As the yield on U.S. Treasury bonds has risen in recent days, gas prices have fallen....

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    Ouch! Gas prices are rising again.

    But the average price is about the same as a month ago

    Motorists are beginning to feel a little more pain at the pump as gasoline prices, stable for the last few weeks, have moved higher over the last few days.

    AAA reports the national average price of regular gas is $3.88 a gallon. That’s about four cents a gallon higher than a week ago but is about the same price motorists were paying a month ago. But compared to this time last year, the average price is 20 cents a gallon more.

    The average price of premium gas is $4.65 a gallon and the average price of diesel fuel is $4.58 a gallon. The prices of both have risen more than 10 cents a gallon in the last seven days.

    Across the country, there is a wide disparity in price on a state-by-state basis. In California, the statewide average price of regular is $5.76 a gallon, the highest in the nation. In Los Angeles, the average price is even higher – $6.03 a gallon.

    Mississippi has the cheapest gas in the nation. The statewide average is $3.30 a gallon.

    Prices are rising because the price of oil has begun to rise, hitting $90 a barrel. Saudi Arabia and Russia have agreed to curtail production in an effort to keep prices elevated.

    Domestic producers have upped their game

    Patrick DeHaan, head of Petroleum Analysis at GasBuddy, has reported U.S. production has increased in an effort to make up for lost supply. He reports U.S. oil production is up 800,000 barrels a day from this time a year ago. Since January 2021, U.S. producers have increased their output by 1.9 million barrels a day.

    That, and a couple of other factors, may put a ceiling on how high gasoline prices will rise.

     “Oil costs are putting upward pressure on pump prices, but the rise is tempered by much lower demand,” said Andrew Gross, AAA’s spokesperson. “The slide in people fueling up is typical, with schools back in session, the days getting shorter, and the weather less pleasant. But the usual decline in pump prices is being stymied for now by these high oil costs.” 

    Other relief may come from refiners. Gasoline producers have begun the process of switching over to winter-grade fuel blends, which cost less than summer-grade fuel.

    Motorists are beginning to feel a little more pain at the pump as gasoline prices, stable for the last few weeks, have moved higher over the last few days....