Since Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has held steady at $2.18, which is one cent higher than a week ago, 13 cents more than a month ago and 56 cents less than a year ago. According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand took a slight step forward to 8.77 million b/d from 8.56 million b/d last week. The small increase in demand contributed to a decrease in total domestic gasoline stocks by 4.8 million bbl to 251.7 million bbl last week. The national average holding steady means that gasoline supply and demand are largely in sync across the country. If these trends continue, motorists could see pump prices continue to slow their increases and hold steady this month.

At the close of Thursday’s formal trading session, WTI decreased by $1.28 to settle at $39.62. Domestic crude prices pushed lower after EIA’s weekly report revealed that total domestic crude inventories increased by 5.7 million bbl to 539.2 million bbl. Increasing crude stocks could mean that crude production is still too high given where demand currently is and could be headed, as new coronavirus outbreaks emerge.

Largest Weekly Increases

• Since last Thursday, these 10 states have seen the largest increases in their averages: Washington, D.C. (+5 cents), Ohio (+4 cents), Wisconsin (+4 cents), California (+3 cents), South Dakota (+3 cents), Oregon (+3 cents), Illinois (+3 cents), Washington (+2 cents), Iowa (+2 cents) and Indiana (+2 cents).