AAA: Gas Prices Stable in PA

Gas prices are steady in Western Pennsylvania this week at $3.712 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average                          $3.712
Average price during the week of December 27, 2022                                      $3.712
Average price during the week of January 4, 2022                                           $3.522

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:      

$3.695      Altoona
$3.812      Beaver
$3.765      Bradford
$3.498      Brookville
$3.740      Butler
$3.589      Clarion
$3.669      DuBois
$3.714      Erie
$3.732      Greensburg
$3.758      Indiana
$3.675      Jeannette
$3.770      Kittanning
$3.758      Latrobe
$3.749      Meadville
$3.797      Mercer
$3.563      New Castle
$3.770      New Kensington
$3.759      Oil City
$3.722      Pittsburgh
$3.704      Sharon
$3.728      Uniontown
$3.785      Warren
$3.632      Washington

Trend Analysis: 

The late December winter storm and its frigid temperatures caused gas prices to spike, with refineries as far south as Texas and the Gulf Coast forced to shut down temporarily. The storm also caused holiday travelers to fuel up and hit the road early to beat the bad weather, leading to a spike in overall gas demand. The national average for a gallon of gas rose 12 cents over the last week to hit $3.22. This is 20 cents less than a month ago and six cents less than a year ago.

According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand rose from 8.7 to 9.3 million barrels per day last week. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks fell by 3 million barrels to 223 million barrels. More demand and less supply helped push pump prices higher.

At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, WTI increased by $1.86 to settle at $80.26. A weaker dollar contributed to rising crude prices. Crude prices rose despite the EIA reporting that total domestic commercial crude stocks increased by 800,000 barrels to 419 million barrels. The increase signals that oil demand may be weakening amid ongoing market concerns that a recession or economic slowdown could occur this year.

Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at gasprices.aaa.com.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 70 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members. News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.