Since Monday, the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline has decreased by two cents to $3.14. Pump prices have declined despite the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reporting this week that gas demand increased slightly from 9.33 million b/d to 9.57 million b/d last week and total domestic stocks decreased by 2.3 million bbl to 225.9 million bbl. Typically, lower stock levels alongside higher demand would push pump prices higher; however, crude prices have been trending below $70/bbl, helping to push prices lower instead.

Crude oil prices fluctuated this week – from a low of $65/bbl to a high of $68/bbl – due to market optimism in response to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s full approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine and EIA’s Wednesday report showing that total domestic crude stocks decreased by 2.9 million bbl to 432.6 million bbl last week. However, crude prices took a step back today with optimism being replaced with concerns of what fall driving season could look like amid growing COVID case numbers. At the close of Thursday’s formal trading session, WTI decreased by 94 cents to settle at $67.42.

Largest Weekly Decreases

• Since last Thursday, these 10 states have seen the largest decreases in their averages: Ohio (−9 cents), Kentucky (−8 cents), Indiana (−8 cents), Michigan (−8 cents), Washington, D.C. (−6 cents), Wisconsin (−6 cents), Kansas (−5 cents), North Dakota (−4 cents), Florida (−4 cents) and Texas (−4 cents).