Good news at the fuel pump? Some, especially for oil-burners

RVers planning trips and watching the budget, here’s news. A week went by without motor fuel prices changing—but then, sure enough, they jumped. Gasoline prices jumped 6.5 cents a gallon to $3.57. At the same time, diesel fuelers can take greater comfort. Diesel rose 3.1 cents a gallon, up to $4.02 a gallon. Is there good news at the fuel pump? The price of fueling up is still less than last year.

Gas, meh; diesel still sitting pretty

Fuel price watcher GasBuddy crunched numbers from more than 12 million individual price reports covering more than 150,000 gas stations across the country. The national average is up 17.1 cents from a month ago but 0.8 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. Again, the national average price of diesel has increased 3.1 cents in the last week and stands at $4.02 per gallon—15 cents lower than one year ago.

Look for this in the next week or so

“After a brief break, gas prices have leapt back up, driven by extensive refinery maintenance on the West Coast, where prices have increased notably; only a handful of states have seen prices decline over the last week,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “With oil prices rising to nearly $87 per barrel last week, their highest since October, we are not only facing the seasonal factors that push prices up—refinery maintenance, the switch to summer gasoline, and rising demand—but also escalating crude oil prices as OPEC’s production cuts continue to cause declining global oil inventories, with escalations between Iran and Israel adding to concerns of further destabilization. The West Coast is likely to see gas prices continue to jump, and in a week or so, will be joined by the mid-Atlantic and Northeast states as they wrap up the transition to summer gasoline.”

Right now, it’s mostly about oil

As OPEC maintains strict output cuts, oil prices have continued to find support, climbing on geopolitical escalations in the Middle East and worry about Israel and Iran attacking each other amid rising global demand. However, a glimmer of hope emerged over the weekend as ceasefire talks continue to bring some level of optimism that a deal could be reached. In early Monday trade, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil saw some profit-taking, down 55 cents to $86.36 per barrel, up from $82.85 last Monday. Brent crude oil was also in the red, down 61 cents to $90.56 per barrel, still a nearly $4 gain from last week’s $86.59 per barrel start. Meanwhile, a strong jobs number last week could push the U.S. Federal Reserve to delay the start of interest rate cuts, keeping rising global demand in check. Additional consumer price data from the U.S. and China will arrive this week, providing more of a hint for which way the Fed may be moving.

Is gasoline your motivator?

The most common U.S. gas price encountered by motorists stood at $3.29 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $3.39, $3.49, $3.19, and $3.59 rounding out the top five most common prices.

The median U.S. gas price is $3.39 per gallon, up 4 cents from last week and about 18 cents lower than the national average. The top 10% of stations in the country average $5.05 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.00 per gallon. Good news at the fuel pump? The states with the lowest average prices: Colorado ($3.01), Mississippi ($3.08), Oklahoma ($3.10).

The states with the highest average prices: California ($5.30), Hawaii ($4.67), and Washington ($4.58).

If you put diesel in your tank

The most common U.S. diesel price stood at $3.99 per gallon, unchanged from last week, followed by $3.79, $4.19, $3.69, and $3.89 rounding out the top five most common prices.

The median U.S. diesel price is $3.95 per gallon, up 6 cents from last week and about 8 cents lower than the national average for diesel.

Diesel prices at the top 10% of stations in the country average $5.04 per gallon, while the bottom 10% average $3.43 per gallon.

The states with the lowest average diesel prices: Oklahoma ($3.56), Texas ($3.60), and Colorado ($3.62).

The states with the highest average diesel prices: Hawaii ($5.61), California ($5.38), and Washington ($4.64).

Hang onto your hats

Is there good news at the fuel pump? For gassers, at least the price of fuel is still a bit lower than last year at this time. For diesel drivers, your choice is decidedly cheaper than this time in 2023. Hang onto your hats, and your wallets—we’ll see where it all goes from here.

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