Since Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline fell by three cents to $4.15. According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 2 million bbl to 236.8 million bbl last week. Gasoline demand increased slightly from 8.5 million b/d to 8.56 million b/d. Although supply and demand factors would have typically supported elevated pump prices, the fluctuating price of oil continues to be the main factor influencing pump prices. Pump prices will likely face downward pressure if oil prices remain below $100 per barrel. 

At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, WTI dropped by $5.73 to settle at $96.23. Crude prices decreased after EIA’s weekly report revealed that total domestic crude stocks increased last week by 2.5 million bbl to 412.4 million bbl, approximately 17 percent lower than the beginning of April 2021. Additionally, crude prices faced more downward pressure this week after the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) 31 member countries, including Mexico, Japan, Germany, and Canada, announced plans to release 120 million barrels of crude oil from their emergency oil stockpiles. The amount includes a previously announced 60 million barrels of oil from the U.S.  It would be the second coordinated release in just over a month in response to spiking oil prices after Russia invaded Ukraine. While the IEA said more details about the release would become available soon, including the release timeline, the announcement has helped ease some supply concerns, pushing crude prices lower. 

Largest Weekly Decreases

• Since last Thursday, these 10 states have seen the largest decreases in their averages: Connecticut (−31 cents), Michigan (−11 cents), Ohio (−11 cents), Wisconsin (−10 cents), Indiana (−10 cents), Georgia (−10 cents), Washington, D.C. (−9 cents), South Carolina (−9 cents), Nevada (−9 cents) and California (−9 cents).