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The Week
Drivers in New Jersey, the Philadelphia 5-county area and Delaware saw prices at the pump continue to decline this week. In the new weekly report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand saw a slight uptick however, it is still lower than where it was at this time last year. Lower demand has helped pump prices decline this week, and will likely help pump prices continue their descent as fall approaches. Local prices are at least 25 cents less per gallon than one year ago.
Today’s national gas price average is $2.18, down two cents in the last week, up a penny in the last month, and down 47 cents from this time last year.
CURRENT AND PAST GAS PRICE AVERAGES
Regular Unleaded Gasoline (*indicates record high)
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09/18/20
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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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$2.20
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$2.65
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New Jersey
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$2.19
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$2.22
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$2.58
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Trenton
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$2.26
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$2.29
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$2.61
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Cape May County
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$2.28
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$2.29
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$2.57
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Burlington
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$2.16
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$2.20
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$2.51
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Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon Counties
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$2.20
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$2.24
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$2.60
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Monmouth, Ocean Counties
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$2.24
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$2.27
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$2.59
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Crude Oil
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$41.11 per barrel (09/18/20)
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$37.33 per barrel (09/11/20)
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$58.09per barrel (09/20/19)
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At the close of NYMEX trading Friday, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil settled at $41.11 per barrel, $3.78 higher than last Friday’s close. Domestic crude prices increased after EIA’s weekly report revealed that total domestic crude inventories decreased last week which could signal that supply and demand are beginning to rebalance, even as crude production grew last week. Crude prices may continue to increase if supplies grow tighter, but demand challenges could contain potential growth in prices.
The Weekend
“Typically lower supply levels translate into higher pump prices. However, even with consistent declines in gasoline stocks, that’s just not the case right now,” says Tracy E. Noble, manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Despite the steady supply dip, continued low levels of demand helped push local and national gas prices cheaper on the week.”
The Week Ahead
Mid-September is when gas stations make the switch to winter-blend gasoline, which is less expensive to produce than summer-blend gasoline. The difference between the two blends comes down to Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP), which is a measure of how easily the fuel evaporates at a given temperature. The higher – or more volatile – the RVP, the more able it is to evaporate at low temperatures. Winter-blend has a higher RVP which allows the fuel to evaporate at low temperatures for the engine to operate properly, especially when the engine is cold.
AAA has a variety of resources to help motorists save on fuel:
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