WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – The average for a gallon of regular gasoline is slightly lower this week in California, at $4.80, down five cents since last week. A substantial 61-cent drop from the $5.41 per gallon average Californians were seeing this time last year. Although the national average of $3.17 is slightly up from last week and 5 cents higher than last month, it’s still well below what drivers were paying this year over year.
“An increase in demand – as the weather gets nicer and more people get out and about – is pushing prices up slightly,” said Doug Johnson with AAA Northern California. “The price of crude oil is also on the lower side at $62 a barrel, compared to $82 a barrel, which is what it cost one year ago.”
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline demand increased from 8.46 million b/d last week to 9.41. Total domestic gasoline supply decreased from 234.0 million barrels to 229.5. Gasoline production increased last week, averaging 10.1 million barrels per day.
Fuel Prices Around the State:
San Francisco: $4.98
Oakland: $4.91
San Jose: $4.89
Sacramento: $4.83
Fresno: $4.77
Stockton: $4.70
Oil Market Dynamics
At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, WTI fell $1.40 to settle at $62.27 a barrel. The EIA reports that crude oil inventories increased by 0.2 million barrels from the previous week. At 443.1 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 5% below the five-year average for this time of year.
EV Charging
The national average per kilowatt hour of electricity at a public EV charging station stayed the same this past week at 34 cents. In California it’s 35 cents.
State Stats
Gas
The nation’s top 10 most expensive gasoline markets are California ($4.80), Hawaii ($4.51), Washington ($4.28), Oregon ($3.92), Nevada ($3.87), Alaska ($3.64), Illinois ($3.42), Arizona ($3.37), Pennsylvania ($3.35), and Idaho ($3.32).
The nation’s top 10 least expensive gasoline markets are Mississippi ($2.68), Oklahoma ($2.71), Texas ($2.74), Louisiana ($2.75), Alabama ($2.78), Tennessee ($2.79), South Carolina ($2.80), Arkansas ($2.80), Kentucky ($2.83), and Kansas ($2.83).ElectricThe nation’s top 10 most expensive states for public charging per kilowatt hour are Hawaii (55 cents), Alaska (47 cents), West Virginia (47 cents), Montana (45 cents), South Carolina (44 cents), Tennessee (43 cents), Kentucky (42 cents), Idaho (42 cents), Louisiana (41 cents), and Georgia (40 cents).
The nation’s top 10 least expensive states for public charging per kilowatt hour are Kansas (22 cents), Missouri (25 cents), Iowa (27 cents), Delaware (28 cents), Nebraska (28 cents), Utah (29 cents), Texas (30 cents), Maryland (30 cents), Vermont (31 cents), and North Carolina (31 cents).
Drivers can find current gas and electric charging prices along their route using the AAA Mobile App, now available on CarPlayFine current fuel prices at GasPrices.AAA.com. Find local news releases at mwg.aaa.com/news/press-release.
