Since Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has increased by four cents to $3.36. According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 5.4 million bbl to 217.7 million bbl last week. However, gasoline demand increased from 9.19 million b/d to 9.63 million b/d. With the US economy recovering from the depths of the pandemic, demand for gas has gone up, but supply is tight. Higher demand coupled with a decline in stocks, alongside elevated crude prices, has put upward market pressure on pump prices. Pump prices will likely rise as long as crude prices remain high — above $80 per barrel.

At the close of Thursday’s formal trading session, WTI decreased by 92 cents to settle at $82.50. Although crude prices took a slight step back today due to weakness in the U.S. equity markets, prices increased after EIA’s weekly report revealed that total domestic crude inventories decreased slightly to 426.5 million bbl. The current storage level is approximately 13 percent lower than the level at this same time last year. Given supply concerns, the market continues to push prices higher because of tight supply.

Largest Weekly Increases

• Since last Thursday, these 10 states have seen the largest increases in their averages: Connecticut (+13 cents), North Carolina (+13 cents), Florida (+13 cents), Rhode Island (+12 cents), New York (+12 cents), Tennessee (+12 cents), New Jersey (+12 cents), Massachusetts (+12 cents), New Hampshire (+11 cents) and Vermont (+10 cents).