Since Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline increased by a penny to $3.68. After declining for 98 consecutive days, the national average reversed course yesterday as fluctuating oil prices and tight supply due to planned and unplanned maintenance work at refineries on the West Coast and Midwest contribute to rising pump prices. According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand decreased from 8.49 million b/d to 8.32 million b/d last week. Moreover, according to the EIA, total domestic gasoline stocks increased by 1.6 million bbl to 214.6 million bbl. Although gasoline demand has decreased, tight supply and fluctuating oil prices have increased the national average. However, if gas demand remains low and continues to drop, pump price increases will likely be minimized as supply increases.

At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, WTI decreased by $1.00 to settle at $82.94. Crude prices declined yesterday after the Federal Reserve announced that it would raise interest rates again, continuing its efforts to curb inflation. However, the market is concerned that those efforts could lead to a recession, which would likely cause crude demand and prices to decrease. EIA’s latest weekly report also showed that total commercial crude inventories increased by 1.2 million bbl to 430.8 million bbl last week.

Largest Weekly Changes

• Since last Thursday, these 10 states have seen the largest changes in their averages: Iowa (+16 cents), Rhode Island (−13 cents),  Connecticut (−12 cents), Oklahoma (+11 cents), Massachusetts (−11 cents), New York (−11 cents), West Virginia (−11 cents), New Hampshire (−11 cents), New Jersey (−11 cents) and New Mexico (+10 cents).