Summer is winding down, but gasoline prices are not. They are rising in 46 states, lifting the national average to $2.35 per gallon Monday, the highest level since June, according to the latest figures from GasBuddy. This as the price of oil nears $50 a barrel.
Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy, said the increase in gas prices is being stoked by rising oil prices as inventories continue to tighten and concern over the Venezuelan crisis lingers. Venezuela, riven by political strife, has the largest proven oil reserves in the world. “While we’re likely to see gas prices continuing to move higher in the week ahead as they catch up to oil,” DeHaan said, “we’re unlikely to break out of the well-established rut in the national average which has kept prices between $2.12 and $2.42 for the last 15 months.”
The biggest price gains took place mostly in the South. Georgia, Iowa, New Jersey and South Carolina all had price increases of seven cents a gallon, while Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Mexico and Virginia all had price hikes of six cents.
The states with the cheapest average gas prices are: Mississippi ($2.09), South Carolina ($2.09), Alabama ($2.09), Missouri ($2.11), Arkansas ($2.11), Oklahoma ($2.12), Tennessee ($2.13), Louisiana ($2.16), Texas ($2.16) and Virginia ($2.17).
Data last week from the Energy Information Administration indicated a drop of 1.5 million barrels in crude oil inventories, a smaller decline than anticipated by analysts. Even so, that drop brought total inventories to their lowest since December 2016. Inventories are continuing to slide from their peak of 536 million barrels in late March to the current level of 481 million.
Oil prices finished last week with a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil at $49.52. Even though the Venezuelan crisis persists, concerns have ebbed in recent days after President Trump hinted that for now sanctions would be only targeted at individuals. Should sanctions be placed on Venezuela’s oil industry, oil markets would likely climb, as Gulf Coast refiners scramble to find oil supply to replace that from Venezuela.
GasBuddy predicts gasoline prices are likely to continue to rise in the near term, with prices in the volatile Great Lakes region likely to climb in a few days, which may contribute as much as a three-cent surge in the national average in the week ahead.
The Average American Has No Idea How Much Money You Can Make Today (Sponsor)
The last few years made people forget how much banks and CD’s can pay. Meanwhile, interest rates have spiked and many can afford to pay you much more, but most are keeping yields low and hoping you won’t notice.
But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying almost 10x the national average! That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe and earn more at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 3.80% with a Checking & Savings Account today Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.
Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes to open an account to make your money work for you.
Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 4.00% with a Checking & Savings Account from Sofi. Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.