The Week
Barely budging since June, the national average for a gallon of gas squeaked out a one cent increase to $3.51 since last week. The national average has hovered around $3.50 per gallon since June 26th.
In Oklahoma, the gas average is $3.13 today, unchanged in the last week and 22 cents less expensive than one year ago. Today’s national average is $3.51, 2 cents more than a month ago and 17 cents less than a year ago.
CURRENT AND PAST GAS PRICE AVERAGES
Regular Unleaded Gasoline (*indicates record high)
7/26/24 |
Week Ago |
Year Ago |
|
National |
$3.51 |
$3.50 |
$3.68 |
Oklahoma |
$3.13 |
$3.13 |
$3.35 |
Oklahoma City |
$3.19 |
$3.12 |
$3.34 |
Tulsa |
$3.12 |
$3.20 |
$3.43 |
Lawton |
$3.08 |
$3.06 |
$3.07 |
Crude Oil |
$77.16 per barrel (7/26/24) |
$80.13 per barrel (7/19/24) |
$79.77 per barrel (7/28/23) |
The EIA reports that crude oil inventories decreased by 3.7 million barrels from the previous week. At 436.5 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 5% below the five-year average for this time of year.
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand rose unexpectedly from 8.78 million b/d to 9.45 last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks fell from 233 to 227.4 million barrels. Gasoline production rose last week, averaging 10.2 million barrels per day. Higher gasoline demand but lower oil costs may keep pump prices relatively stable for now.
The Weekend
“Some of the uptick in gasoline prices may be due to a reported storm-related outage at the ExxonMobil refinery in Joliet, Illinois. That’s contributing to higher pump prices in the upper Midwest,” said Rylie Fletcher, spokesperson for AAA Oklahoma. “Meanwhile, oil prices have fallen quite a bit lately. In April, a barrel of oil was in the upper $80s, but today, it is $10 a barrel cheaper. That might mitigate any upward pressure on pump prices.”
AAA has a variety of resources to help motorists save on fuel:
- Fuel Price Finder (http://www.AAA.com/fuelfinder) locates the lowest fuel price in your area.
- AAA Gas Cost Calculator (http://gasprices.aaa.com/aaa-gas-cost-calculator/) helps budget travel expenses.
- TripTik Mobile (http://www.aaa.com/mobile) plots fuel prices along your travel route.
Next Weekend Gas Watch: Friday, August 2, 2024