The Week

As another week passes with drivers seeing little movement in prices at the pump, AAA believes  gas prices may have reached their peak price for the year, since the beginning of the pandemic, excluding any major hurricane activity that could disrupt gas and oil supplies. Nationally, the average price for regular unleaded gasoline hit a summer high at $2.20 in mid-July. In Maryland, the highest price recorded for the summer so far was $2.28 on July 29.

The gas price average in Maryland today is $2.24, down respectively a penny in the last week, two cents from last month, and 28 cents from this date last year.

Today’s national gas price average is $2.18, up a penny in the last week, down a penny in the last month, and down 42 cents from this time last year.

CURRENT AND PAST GAS PRICE AVERAGES

Regular Unleaded Gasoline

At the close of NYMEX trading Friday, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil settled at $42.34 per barrel, 33 cents higher than last Friday’s close. Crude prices have been held lower as a result of concerns over this week’s jobless claims and what that could do to gasoline demand. Domestic crude prices decreased despite the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) weekly report revealing that total domestic inventories decreased. So far, the minimal increases in crude prices have not had a noticeable impact on pump prices, but if prices stay above $45 per barrel for a prolonged period of time, consumers could see gas prices at their local stations increase.

The Weekend

“Gas prices have stalled at the vast majority of pumps,” says Ragina C. Ali, Manager of Public and Government Affairs for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “Concerns over employment numbers and the spread of the COVID-19 virus continue to keep prices for both gas and oil down, meaning we may have already seen the peak, since the beginning of the pandemic, for gas prices this year.”

The Week Ahead

The national gas price average has pushed only as expensive as $2.20 since the beginning of the pandemic, and that happened just one month ago. In the last four weeks, motorists have seen the national average slowly decrease, down to today’s average of $2.18 despite gasoline demand last week reaching the highest measurement since mid-March, according to the latest EIA weekly report. EIA expects gasoline will gradually decrease through the rest of the summer to an average of $2.04 per gallon in September before falling to an average of $1.99 per gallon in the fourth quarter.

AAA has a variety of resources to help motorists save on fuel:

• Shell Fuel Rewards Program for AAA Members: (https://www.AAA.com/Shell) gives AAA members nationwide a discount on gasoline at Shell stations when they join the Fuel Rewards® program.

• Fuel Price Finder (https://www.AAA.com/fuelfinder) locates the lowest fuel price in your area. 

• AAA Gas Cost Calculator (https://gasprices.aaa.com/aaa-gas-cost-calculator/) helps budget travel expenses. 

• TripTik Mobile (https://www.aaa.com/mobile) plots fuel prices along your travel route. 

• AAA's Member Rewards Visa® Credit Card (https://www.AAA.com/financial/AAAvisa.htm) accumulates double points on fuel purchases. 

Next Weekend Gas Watch: Friday, August 28, 2020

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AAA provides automotive, travel and insurance services to over 60 million members nationwide and nearly 988,000 members in Maryland.  AAA advocates for the safety and mobility of its members and has been committed to outstanding road service for more than 100 years.  The not-for-profit, fully tax-paying member organization works on behalf of motorists, who can now map a route, find local gas prices, discover discounts, book a hotel and track their roadside assistance service with the AAA Mobile app for iPhone, iPad and Android.  For more information, visit AAA.com.