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The Week
Drivers throughout the region haven’t seen much change at the pump in the last week or the last month. The average for a gallon of regular gasoline in New Jersey and the Philadelphia 5 county area is down a penny in the last week and up only two cents in the last month. South Jersey and Delaware have seen a bit more movement. South Jersey is down two cents in the last week and down three cents in the last month while Delaware is unchanged in the last week but up by six cents in the last month. Crude oil supplies declined this week as supplies of gasoline increased, creating further volatility in the market.
Today’s national gas price average is $2.18, unchanged in the last week, down a penny in the last month and down 54 cents from this time last year.
CURRENT AND PAST GAS PRICE AVERAGES
Regular Unleaded Gasoline (*indicates record high)
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07/31/20
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Week Ago
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Year Ago
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National
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$2.18
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$2.18
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$2.72
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New Jersey
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$2.18
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$2.19
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$2.79
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Trenton
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$2.22
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$2.21
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$2.85
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Cape May County
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$2.26
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$2.26
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$2.84
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Burlington
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$2.16
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$2.18
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$2.71
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Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon Counties
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$2.20
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$2.20
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$2.79
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Monmouth, Ocean Counties
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$2.20
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$2.20
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$2.80
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Crude Oil
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$40.27 per barrel (7/31/20)
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$41.29 per barrel (7/24/20)
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$55.66per barrel (8/2/19)
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At the close of NYMEX trading Friday, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil settled at $40.27 per barrel, $1.02 lower than last Friday’s close. Following the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest report showing a large drop in crude supplies, crude prices edged higher. However, prices fell Thursday following a tweet from the President suggesting the U.S. should postpone the November election. The market was also impacted by news that the U.S. economy contracted at its steepest pace since the Great Depression in the second quarter.
The Weekend
“Although gas prices haven’t changed much in the past few weeks, prices are likely to fluctuate throughout the rest of the summer due to COVID-19 concerns,” says Tracy E. Noble, manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Pump prices have been pushing less expensive recently as gasoline demand continues to drop.”
The Week Ahead
As forecasters keep watch of Hurricane Isaias moving toward Florida’s eastern coast, analysts are not very concerned about an impact on oil and natural-gas production. Should the storm change direction and head to the Gulf of Mexico, the threat to oil production could grow and influence oil and gas prices.
AAA has a variety of resources to help motorists save on fuel:
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