Oklahoma’s pump price average is lowest in region – 11 cents below Texas

None of Oklahoma’s neighbors have a gasoline price average as low as the Sooner State’s today, AAA reports. Arkansas and Missouri come closest at $2.12, three cents above today’s Oklahoma average.

“As you’re heading out for that great American road trip, it’s good to know what gas prices are doing in the states you’ll be traveling in and through,” said Chuck Mai, spokesman for AAA Oklahoma. “According to GasPrices.AAA.com, Oklahoma’s statewide average for self-serve regular is 11 cents below Texas’ average of $2.20 and 18 cents below the Dallas average.”

Current Price Averages per Gallon of Regular Gasoline

• Tulsa – $2.03, unchanged from one month ago … down 2 cents from 6/5/16
• OKC – $2.06, up 1 cent from one month ago … down 9 cents from 6/5/16
• Oklahoma – $2.09, unchanged from one month ago … down 4 cents from 6/5/16
• U.S. – $2.38, up 2 cents from one month ago … up 2 cents from 6/5/16

The most expensive major city gasoline price averages today in Oklahoma:

Ada – $2.26

Purcell – $2.25

Mustang – $2.23

Guthrie – $2.21

The least expensive major city gasoline price averages today in Oklahoma:

Wagoner – $1.94

Okmulgee – $1.98

Muskogee – $1.98

Sapulpa – $1.98

Yukon – $1.98

Quick Stats

• American drivers used a record 413 million gallons/day of gas during the week ending May 26.
• The nation’s top ten markets with the biggest changes in the last week include Indiana (+7 cents), Michigan (+7 cents), Florida (+6 cents), Ohio (+6 cents), Utah (+4 cents), Illinois (-4 cents), Delaware (-3 cents), Missouri (-3 cents), Oklahoma (-3 cents) and Maryland (-3 cents).
• The nation’s top ten markets with the cheapest gas this week include South Carolina ($2.03), Oklahoma ($2.09), Alabama ($2.09), Mississippi ($2.09), Tennessee ($2.11), Arkansas ($2.12), Missouri ($2.12), Virginia ($2.15), Louisiana ($2.16) and Kansas ($2.19).

Global Market Dynamics

For the second week in a row, the price per barrel of crude opened today (June 5) at less than $50. The opening price shows that the market is expressing serious skepticism about OPEC’s ability to rebalance global supply through its production cuts, which will now last through March 2018. Market watchers are also looking at long-awaited gasoline demand in the US to see if it will grow enough to eat away at still-high inventories.

The EIA report for the week ending on May 26th showed some encouraging trends related to gasoline demand. It came in at a record of 9.822 million barrels per day (b/d) – 7,000 b/d ahead of the previous record from last June. However, the report also showed that week’s gasoline output from refineries topped 10 million b/d, for the fourth week in a row, and the level was the highest since early November of last year. Strong refinery output rates show that instead of diminishing existing stocks of gasoline to meet demand, refineries are continuing to replenish the gasoline they have in storage with newly produced gasoline. The result is that storage levels still remain high, so refineries can pull stocks from storage to meet higher driver demand without needing more oil to produce higher levels of gasoline.

Moreover, oil production continues to grow in the US. Baker Hughes, Inc. reported in its report last week that oil rigs grew by 11, landing at 733. This record-breaking oil exploration in the US will continue to increase crude inventories. Only time will tell if growing demand for refined products, such as gasoline, will begin to chip away at global crude inventories, increasing prices per barrel – which could lead drivers to pay more at the pump.