The national average price for a gallon of gasoline has climbed by two cents in the past week, reaching $3.21. This increase is largely a result of the recent impact from storms, which have inflicted infrastructure damage, road flooding, and power outages across significant portions of the country due to Hurricane Helene and Storm Milton.
While these adverse weather conditions have not drastically affected the overall gasoline supply, they have altered fuel demand in regions where infrastructure setbacks have made access to gasoline more challenging.
Oil Market Trends and Global Influences
The escalating geopolitical tensions involving Iran and Israel are adding to oil price fluctuations. However, these tensions have not caused a marked or prolonged increase in global oil prices. Recently, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices fell by 33 cents, settling at $73.24 a barrel. In addition, U.S. crude oil inventories increased by 5.8 million barrels, totaling 422.7 million barrels, which is roughly 4% below the five-year average for this period.
Gasoline and Energy Market Insights
Latest figures from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reveal a notable rise in gas demand last week from 8.52 million barrels per day (b/d) to 9.65 million b/d, while domestic gasoline stocks significantly dipped from 221.2 million barrels to 214.9 million barrels. Despite the surge in demand and a decrease in supply, gasoline production remained robust, averaging 10.2 million barrels per day.
The current national average price for gasoline is $3.21, which is five cents lower than last month and 47 cents less than the same period last year.
Regional Gas Prices
Here are the ten states with the highest gasoline prices:
- California ($4.67)
- Hawaii ($4.59)
- Washington ($4.05)
- Nevada ($3.91)
- Oregon ($3.67)
- Alaska ($3.65)
- Illinois ($3.50)
- Utah ($3.50)
- Idaho ($3.44)
- Pennsylvania ($3.38)
Conversely, here are the ten states with the lowest gasoline prices:
- Georgia ($2.72)
- Mississippi ($2.75)
- Texas ($2.80)
- Arkansas ($2.81)
- Oklahoma ($2.81)
- Louisiana ($2.83)
- Missouri ($2.84)
- Kansas ($2.84)
- Alabama ($2.86)
- Tennessee ($2.86)
Electric Vehicle Charging Expenses
As the popularity of electric vehicles rises, tracking the costs of public charging becomes increasingly significant. The national average cost for a kilowatt of electricity at public charging stations is currently 35 cents. This information is particularly relevant for the approximately 1.2 million members of households owning electric vehicles.
The states with the lowest charging costs per kilowatt hour are:
- Kansas (22 cents)
- Missouri (24 cents)
- Delaware (26 cents)
- Nebraska (28 cents)
- Texas (29 cents)
- Vermont (30 cents)
- Michigan (30 cents)
- Utah (30 cents)
- Wisconsin (30 cents)
- North Dakota (30 cents)
In contrast, the states with the highest charging costs per kilowatt hour include:
- Hawaii (55 cents)
- West Virginia (45 cents)
- Montana (43 cents)
- Arkansas (42 cents)
- Idaho (42 cents)
- New Hampshire (42 cents)
- South Carolina (42 cents)
- Kentucky (41 cents)
- South Dakota (41 cents)
- Alaska (41 cents)
