Since Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has increased by five cents to $2.36, which is eight cents more than a week ago, 20 cents more than a month ago, and 21 cents less than a year ago. Pump prices have increased while gas demand remains low at 7.53 million b/d and total refinery utilization increased from 80.7 percent to 82 percent in the latest weekly report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

At the close of Thursday’s formal trading session, WTI increased by 66 cents to settle at $53.57. Crude prices continue to increase this week due to market optimism that coronavirus vaccines will help crude demand recover this year. Additionally, EIA’s new weekly report helped bolster prices, detailing that total domestic crude inventories declined by 3.2 million bbl to 482.2 million bbl last week.

If crude prices continue to sustain prices above $50 per barrel alongside higher refinery utilization rates and demand, drivers could see pump prices continue to climb through the weekend. 

Largest Weekly Increases

• Since last Thursday, these 10 states have seen the largest increases in their averages: Michigan (+16 cents), Kansas (+12 cents), Texas (+12 cents), Virginia (+11 cents), New Mexico (+11 cents), Connecticut (+10 cents), Delaware (+10 cents), Mississippi (+10 cents), Arkansas (+10 cents) and Georgia (+9 cents).