The following was reported by the American Automobile Association (AAA).
A recent refinery issue has caused a surge in gas prices ahead of Labor Day weekend. The national average for a gallon of regular went up more than 7 cents this past week to $3.21 mainly due to flooding at BP Whiting Refinery in Indiana. The largest refinery in the Midwest shut down operations for several days following a severe thunderstorm. As a result, states in the Great Lakes region saw an increase in gas prices, but they may get some relief soon now that the refinery is back online. Overall, summer gas prices have remained steady and should trend downward as the fall season begins. But the incident in Whiting underscores the futility of predicting gas prices. Mother Nature and geopolitical events can suddenly and unexpectedly impact fuel prices.
- Thursday, Aug. 28’s National Average: $3.210
- One Week Ago: $3.137
- One Month Ago: $3.143
- One Year Ago: $3.361
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline demand increased from 8.84 million b/d last week to 9.24 million. Total domestic gasoline supply decreased from 223.6 million barrels to 222.3. Gasoline production increased last week, averaging 10 million barrels per day.
Oil Market Dynamics
At the close of Wednesday, Aug. 27’s formal trading session, WTI rose 90 cents to settle at $64.15 a barrel. The EIA reports crude oil inventories decreased by 2.4 million barrels from the previous week. At 418.3 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 6% below the five-year average for this time of year.
EV Charging
The national average per kilowatt hour of electricity at a public EV charging station stayed the same this past week at 36 cents.
State Stats
Gas
The nation’s top 10 most expensive gasoline markets are California ($4.59), Hawaii ($4.47), Washington ($4.39), Oregon ($3.97), Nevada ($3.81), Alaska ($3.75), Illinois ($3.54), Idaho ($3.48), Arizona ($3.42), and Michigan ($3.37).
The nation’s top 10 least expensive gasoline markets are Mississippi ($2.73), Arkansas ($2.78), Louisiana ($2.78), Oklahoma ($2.78), Tennessee ($2.79), Texas ($2.80), Alabama ($2.83), South Carolina ($2.84), Missouri ($2.87), and Kansas ($2.87).
Electric
The nation’s top 10 most expensive states for public charging per kilowatt hour are Alaska (51 cents), West Virginia (49 cents), Hawaii (47 cents), South Carolina (45 cents), New Hampshire (43 cents), Tennessee (43 cents), Arkansas (42 cents), Montana (42 cents), Idaho (42 cents), and Louisiana (42 cents).
The nation’s top 10 least expensive states for public charging per kilowatt hour are Kansas (25 cents), Missouri (27 cents), Maryland (28 cents), Utah (28 cents), Nebraska (30 cents), Delaware (31 cents), Vermont (32 cents), North Carolina (32 cents), Washington (33 cents), and Virginia (33 cents).
