Since Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has held steady at $2.23, which is one cent more than a week ago, five cents more than a month ago and 34 cents lower than a year ago. In the new weekly report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand decreased from 9.16 million b/d to 8.79 million b/d.  Lower demand has helped to keep pump prices stable this week, while total domestic gasoline stocks fell by 4.3 million bbl to 234.9 million bbl. Low demand will likely help pump prices stabilize in the build up to the holiday weekend, which could see demand increase temporarily if Americans decide to take to the roads.

At the close of Thursday’s formal trading session, WTI decreased by nine cents to settle at $41.42. Although the price of crude ended the day with a loss, the decrease was less severe due to EIA’s weekly report revealing that total domestic crude inventories dropped by 9.4 million bbl last week, lowering total stocks to 498.4 million bbl. So far, fluctuations 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.

Largest Weekly Changes

• Since last Thursday, these 10 states have seen the largest changes in their averages: Florida (+11 cents), Ohio (-7 cents), Indiana (-6 cents), Utah (+5 cents), Wisconsin (-5 cents), Idaho (+3 cents), Michigan (-3 cents), Illinois (-3 cents), Kentucky (-3 cents) and Nebraska (+2 cents).