GAITHERSBURG, Md., Oct. 19, 2015 -- After a brief hiatus, gasoline prices have begun falling again: 49 of the nation's 50 states saw gasoline prices declining versus a week ago. Hawaii was the lone state that saw a rise- a miniscule half penny. Average gasoline prices now stand at their lowest since February 16, and likely will continue to decline in many areas as the first refiners begin to come back online after performing maintenance.
Midwest states again saw big price relief as three refiners in that region got back online, likely helping the region recover from seeing the lowest refinery utilization rates ever recorded by the Energy Information Administration last week (73.6%) and ease gasoline supply concerns there.
States witnessing the biggest declines:
- Indiana, down 20 cents
- Ohio, down 18 cents
- Michigan, down 14 cents
- Oklahoma, down 13 cents
- Missouri, down 12 cents
Outside the Midwest, gasoline prices by and large should continue to slowly decline, also helped by falling crude oil prices last week.
"Falling gasoline prices have been the name of the game after a brief hiatus," said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com. "49 of the nation's 50 states saw gasoline prices falling an average of six cents a gallon during the last week, while the Midwest, previously hit with price spikes, saw among the biggest declines as some refiners returned from maintenance, easing supply concerns. Oil prices also took a break after seeing the largest weekly increase since 2009 to post a big decrease last week."
"At last week's close, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude was seen trading around $46/bbl, which certainly helped gasoline prices fall. The gasoline price environment remains vastly improved versus a year ago: just 13.4% of nation's gas stations are selling at over $2.50/gallon today, while a year ago, 100% of stations were over that mark. Nearly a quarter of the nation's gasoline stations are currently selling under $2/gallon, and that number will likely grow in the months ahead as refiners continue to finish maintenance and resume producing gasoline at a time when demand is low, contributing downward pressure to gasoline prices," DeHaan said.
