AAA’s latest report on gasoline prices shows consumers are paying a few pennies more per gallon than a week ago, with a national average price of $3.636, up 7.3 cents from last week. Prices are still about 25% lower than the record highs seen a year ago.
Pennsylvania’s average is slightly higher than the national average, as is typical. The chart below shows how prices have changed from last week and last month in the Lehigh Valley area and the state.
Among Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, prices vary from $3.635 in Huntingdon County in the center of the state to $3.868 in Bradford on the New York border.
Prices are generally higher in the four corners, and lower in the interior.
Carbon ($3.655), Northampton ($3.672), and Schuylkill ($3.674) are the area counties with the lowest average prices. Drivers pay more in the Philadelphia region, in part because it is in a reformulated gas area, which encompasses most of the Northeast Megalopolis from southern New Hampshire to northern Virginia.
AAA attributes the rising prices to a combination of increased demand and rising crude oil prices.
The latest numbers from the U.S. Energy Information Agency show a 3% dip in refiner production over the past month, while the weekly supply estimate slid a little more than 1% to 218.4 million barrels.
Demand for crude may decline in the near term, according to AAA’s research, which may help keep pump prices in check. But declining production will counter lower demand.
Source: pennnews
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