Gas prices in West Central Kentucky increased by three cents this week to $2.207 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.
Elsewhere in the Great Lakes and Central Region, six states saw the country’s largest decrease in gas prices on the week. As prices at the pump drop, so does the region’s gasoline inventory. According to the latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) report, the region drew one million barrels of gasoline on the week, the largest of any region in the country. Typically, gas prices increase with growing demand; however, the region often sees high volatility, which impacts gas price trends week by week.
This week’s average prices: Western Central KY Average $2.207
Average price during the week of August 14, 2017 $2.176
Average price during the week of August 22, 2016 $2.109
Average prices of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:
$2.283 Bowling Green
$2.074 Elizabethtown
$2.425 Louisville
$2.144 Owensboro
$2.110 Paducah
On the National Front
At $2.33, the national gas price average is two cents cheaper than a week ago. Consumers in most Midwest, East Coast and Southern states are paying, on average, two cents less on the week, while most West Coast and Rockies states are seeing pump prices increase on average by three cents. Today’s national average is five cents more than a month ago and 17 cents more expensive than a year ago.
At the end of last week, the price per barrel of West Texas Intermediate stayed below $50 – settling at $48.51. On Monday morning, prices appeared to be falling due to a weak dollar and continued worries about high crude oil inventory levels.
As gas prices continue to fluctuate across the country, growth in gasoline production combined with record-breaking high refinery runs continues to drive the country’s already relatively high gasoline inventories even higher. The EIA reports that despite growing domestic and foreign demand, today’s national gasoline inventory levels sit at 231 million bbl and remain higher than the previous five-year average.
As a result, market observers will look toward this week’s EIA report to see if the trend continues, noting that gasoline demand along the path of today’s solar eclipse may help boost numbers. Drivers in the viewing pathway may see prices spike due to high demand.