Gas prices in West Central Kentucky dropped by almost three cents this week to $2.230 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.
Drivers in the Great Lakes region were some of the only people in the nation to see drops at the pump this week. The latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) report shows Midwest gasoline inventories dropped 1.2 million barrels to 51.6 million last week. The current inventory levels are in pace with this same period last year and are about 2 million barrels above the five-year average.
This week’s average prices: Western Central KY Average $2.230
Average price during the week of July 31, 2017 $2.258
Average price during the week of August 8, 2016 $1.945
Average prices of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:
$2.116 Bowling Green
$2.267 Elizabethtown
$2.497 Louisville
$2.145 Owensboro
$2.125 Paducah
On the National Front
Today’s national average price for regular unleaded gasoline is $2.35 per gallon, which is three cents more than last week, nine cents more than one month ago, and 23 cents more than at the same time last year. The latest EIA report shows gasoline demand reached a new weekly record of 9.8 million b/d. The 2017 demand average over the past four-weeks is about one percent ahead of the same four-week period last year. With summer demand running full steam ahead, drivers can expect prices to continue rising.
After briefly pushing above the $50 benchmark last week and then dropping down, the price per barrel for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) once again appears poised to push above $50 after increasing 55 cents to settle at $49.58 on Friday. With market observers watching crude storage levels to see if they decline, this week’s EIA report was welcomed news since it showed that they had reached their lowest point this year at 481.9 million bbl. However, last week’s excitement was tempered by total crude storage remaining at approximately 70 million bbl ahead of the five-year average.
EIA’s report also showed an increase in domestic crude oil output to 9.43 million b/d last week, making it clear that the glut of crude will not disappear easily. On the other side, according to Baker Hughes, Inc., the U.S. lost one oil rig last week, bringing down the total number of active rigs to 765. The modest decline may be an indicator of investment in offshore drilling leveling out for the year.