Gas Prices Tumble as a Storm Looms, and AAA Adds EV Charging Data

The Week

The national average for a gallon of gas dipped four cents since last week to $3.48.  The drop comes as a tropical wave with storm-forming potential is slowly approaching the Caribbean Sea. Should it enter the Gulf of Mexico, expect oil prices to move higher.

In Oklahoma, the gas average is $3.10 today, down 3 cents in the last week and 43 cents less than one year ago. Today’s national average of $3.48 is 2 cents less than a month ago and 32 cents less than a year ago.

Meanwhile, AAA is rolling out a new feature today, with much more to come. With an estimated 1.2 million AAA members living in a household with one or more electric vehicles, AAA is adding the kilowatt-per-hour cost for Level 2 (L2) commercial charging by state – more details below. AAA members are 28% more likely than the US adult population overall to have an electric vehicle.

In Oklahoma, the average for a kilowatt of electricity at an L2 commercial charging station is 38 cents. The national average is 34 cents.

CURRENT AND PAST GAS PRICE AVERAGES

Regular Unleaded Gasoline (*indicates record high)

	8/2/24	Week Ago	Year Ago
National	$3.48	$3.51	$3.80
Oklahoma	$3.10	$3.13	$3.53
Oklahoma City	$3.11	$3.19	$3.52
Tulsa	$3.05	$3.12	$3.55
Lawton	$3.02	$3.08	$3.32
Crude Oil	$73.71 per barrel (8/2/24)	$77.16 per barrel (7/26/24)	$82.82 per barrel (8/4/23)

CURRENT EV COST AVERAGES

Per kWh of electricity at an L2 commercial charging station

	8/1/24
National	$0.34
Oklahoma	$0.38

At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, WTI fell by $3.45 to settle at $73.71 a barrel. The EIA reports that crude oil inventories decreased by 3.4 million barrels from the previous week. At 433.0 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 4% below the five-year average for this time of year.

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand slid from 9.45 million b/d to 9.25 last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks fell from 227.4 to 223.8 million barrels. Gasoline production decreased last week, averaging 10.0 million barrels per day. Lower gasoline demand but higher oil costs may lead to flat or slowly rising pump prices dipping, but this depends on Atlantic storm development. 

The Weekend

“The oil market is volatile, and the threat of a hurricane impacting production and refining will certainly grab its attention,” said Rylie Fletcher, AAA Oklahoma spokesperson. “Add in the rising tensions in the Middle East, and oil prices are poised to push higher.”