Retail gas price rally fades

Among Oklahoma towns, today’s price averages range from a high of $2.46 to a low of $2.10.

Today’s national average price for regular gasoline is $2.41 per gallon. Consumers are paying two cents more than one month ago but a half-cent less than one week ago and $1.15 less than the same date last year. The national average has now fallen for 18 of the past 24 days.

“ Oklahoma’s statewide pump price for self-serve regular – now at $2.26 per gallon – has bounced around this narrow price range for the last month,” said Chuck Mai, spokesman for AAA Oklahoma. “However, today’s price is seven cents below the 2015 high of $2.33 recorded on March 7.”

“ Among Oklahoma towns with at least six gasoline stations, Alva has the highest price average today at $2.46. Wagoner boasts the state’s least expensive fuel, $2.10,” said Mai. “In addition to the Oklahoma cities listed in the chart, above, AAA receives daily gas price data for 290 other state communities.”

After briefly rising back above $50 per barrel last week, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil has dropped back below that threshold. Crude prices have fallen to multi-year lows due largely to ample global production. The possibility of increased exports from Iran should a nuclear deal be reached this week would further increase production and has for now offset any “risk premium” stemming from regional stability due to violence in Yemen. A possible deal between the West and Iran could bring an estimated 500,000 barrels per day of additional oil to the global market, which would add more supply to an already well-supplied market and exert further downward pressure on crude prices.

At the close of yesterday’s formal trading on the NYMEX, WTI settled down $0.19 at $48.68 per barrel.

The status of regional refineries continues to be a driving factor for gas prices in many parts of the country. However, while several weeks ago it was refineries going offline and driving prices higher in the Midwest and West Coast, today it is those facilities resuming production that has driven prices lower in the same regions.

Fifteen states today have gas price averages below that of Oklahoma. For more than a month California has been the nation’s most expensive state for gasoline. Today’s price in the Golden State is $3.20 followed by Hawaii ($3.15), Alaska ($2.92), Nevada ($2.80) and Washington ($2.75). South Carolina ($2.10), Tennessee ($2.14) and New Jersey ($2.16) are the least expensive markets in the country for retail gasoline.

Drivers in 34 states and Washington, D.C., are paying less at the pump than one week ago, with the largest price drops in Michigan (-11 cents), California (-6 cents) and Oregon (-4 cents). Over the same period, the price has moved higher in 16 states. The most dramatic increase was in Florida, where prices rose more than 10 cents during this span.

Gas prices are higher over the past month in most of the country. The price at the pump has increased in 32 states and Washington, D.C., with motorists in nine states paying premiums of a dime or more per gallon compared to a month ago. The largest monthly increases have occurred in Utah (+46 cents), Idaho (+44 cents) and Illinois (+22 cents).