With the busy summer driving season in the rearview mirror, drivers are seeing a little relief at the pumps.
Gasoline stocks remain impacted by Hurricane Ida as well as Nicholas which made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane in Texas early today; however, the reduction in gasoline supplies have been offset by decreased demand. For the week, the national average for regular slips a penny to $3.18 a gallon. The Oregon average also ticks down a penny to $3.76.
“This week pump prices could be impacted, especially in the Southeast. Timing is everything. While gasoline supplies nationwide have tightened, this is also the time of year demand starts to drop. While there may be some price fluctuations, we expect most drivers will find fairly stable pump prices when they fill up,” says Marie Dodds, public affairs director for AAA Oregon/Idaho.
Oregon is one of 26 states with lower prices now than a week ago. All states are showing small to moderate changes of six cents or less this week. Ohio (-6 cents) has the largest weekly drop in the country. Arizona (+4 cents) has the largest week-over-week gain. Averages are flat in Virginia and Maine.
California ($4.39) and Hawaii ($4.07) continue to have the most expensive gas prices in the country and are the only states in the nation with averages above $4 a gallon, and 33 states and the District of Columbia are at or above $3, down from 34 states and D.C. a week ago.
The cheapest gas in the nation is in Mississippi ($2.80) and Texas ($2.81). For the 36th week in a row, no state has an average below $2 a gallon.
Oregon is one of 30 states and the District of Columbia with lower prices now than a month ago. The national average is one cent less and the Oregon average is three cents less than a month ago. Michigan (-9 cents) has the largest monthly decrease in the country. Louisiana (+6 cents) has the largest month-over-month increase.
All 50 states and the District of Columbia have higher prices now than a year ago, and 18 states including Oregon have a current average that’s a dollar or more higher than a year ago. The national average is 99 cents more and the Oregon average is $1.11 more than a year ago.
