Drivers see slow increase of gas prices

LUMBERTON — Drivers in the greater Robeson County area have seen a steady increase in gas prices in the last week, with the average price on Tuesday sitting at $2.88 per gallon — up from $2.69 the week prior.

Still, gas prices in Robeson County — and around the rest of the South — remain among the lowest in the country.

Rising prices locally are following a trend seen throughout the rest of the country, according to national price watchers AAA and GasBuddy.com

For the third consecutive week, the nation’s average price of gasoline has risen, climbing 5.2 cents from a week ago to $3.17 per gallon yesterday according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 12 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country. The national average is up 9.6 cents from a month ago but 20.0 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has risen 6.9 cents in the last week and stands at $3.99 per gallon — 55 cents lower than one year ago.

Throwing the average is California, where gas prices remain around $4.10 or higher. For instance, the average price of a gallon of gas in Los Angeles is $4. 75. In Sacramento, the average was $4.37.

“We’ve seen the national average price of gasoline inching higher now for three straight weeks, but I’m afraid the worst is yet to come,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “With several major refinery issues persisting across various regions, the eventual transition to summer gasoline is likely to continue to put upward pressure on prices, with larger weekly increases likely coming in March and April” De Haan said that while he’s feel optimistic that the rise in prices will be merely average, “the fact that we’ve already seen a few high-level refinery problems doesn’t bode well for the spring squeeze, and is a reminder to motorists that without the critical role that refineries play, we could see a bumpy transition to EPA-mandated summer gasoline.”

“It feels like being in a car with a cold battery, cranking away yet slow to turn over,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, late last week. “But gas prices will likely start increasing around Valentine’s Day.”

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand increased from 8.14 to 8.81 million b/d last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 3.1 million bbl to 251 million bbl. Higher gas demand and tighter supply have contributed to elevated pump prices. If demand continues to increase, drivers could see pump prices rise steadily, according to the latest AAA report.

Oil prices

Last week saw oil prices rallying throughout the week, rising from nearly $72 to start last week to finish the week at nearly $77 per barrel. Monday, however, is seeing some downward moves in both WTI and Brent, with WTI crude down 66 cents to $76.18 per barrel, while Brent is off 77 cents to $81.42 per barrel. Global oil inventories have been on the decline in recent weeks, putting upward pressure on oil markets, while Saudi Arabia has looked to cut its capacity, likely to realize growing output from North America and put upward pressure on prices that have remained below $80 since November. In addition, dialogue between Iran and Saudi Arabia about a solution in Gaza has helped reduce concern in the region.

Oil and refined products

Last week’s report from the Energy Information Administration showed a 5.5 million barrel increase in oil inventories, which are now 4% below the five-year average for this time of year, while gasoline inventories plummeted 3.1 million barrels, likely as refineries begin draining winter-spec fuel ahead of the transition to cleaner, EPA-required summer spec fuels. Distillate fuel inventories also fell, shedding 3.2 million barrels, and are 7% below their five-year average range. Implied gasoline demand rose in agreement with Pay with GasBuddy™ data, adding 663,000 barrels per day to 8.807 million. Refinery utilization slipped another 0.5 percentage points to 82.4%, but some recent issues will likely push the number down in the coming weeks.

Fuel demand

According to GasBuddy demand data driven by its Pay with GasBuddy™ fuel card, U.S. retail gasoline demand saw a decrease of 0.7% for the week ending February 10 (Sun-Sat). Broken down by PADD region, demand rose 0.8% in PADD 1, fell 3.5% in PADD 2, rose 2.5% in PADD 3, rose 2.1% in PADD 4, and fell 1.9% in PADD 5. GasBuddy models U.S. gasoline demand at 8.321 million barrels per day.

Gas price trends

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.19 per gallon, up 20 cents from last week, followed by $2.99, $3.09, $2.89, and $2.79 rounding out the top five most common prices.

The median U.S. gas price is $3.09 per gallon, up 10 cents from last week and about 7 cents lower than the national average.

The top 10% of stations in the country average $4.34 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $2.61 per gallon.

The states with the lowest average prices: Wyoming ($2.67), Oklahoma ($2.68), Colorado ($2.68).

The states with the highest average prices: Hawaii ($4.66), California ($4.58), and Washington ($3.85).

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 $3.93 per gallon, up 14 cents from last week and about 6 cents lower than the national average for diesel.

Diesel prices at the top 10% of stations in the country average $5.07 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.40 per gallon.

The states with the lowest average diesel prices: Oklahoma ($3.50), Colorado ($3.53), and Texas ($3.58).

The states with the highest average diesel prices: Hawaii ($5.63), California ($5.34), and Washington ($4.62).