More than one month after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas, motorists are finally seeing consistent declines in gas prices.
Mid-Atlantic drivers continue to see gas prices fall at the pump as Gulf Coast refineries attempt to return to normal production capacity. Compared to two weeks ago, prices are down by double digits in Virginia. As demand slows with the onset of fall, gas prices will continue to decrease in the coming weeks.
At the close of NYMEX trading Friday, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil settled at $51.67 per barrel, $1.01 higher than the previous week’s closing price. Crude oil prices have been above the $50 mark for more than a week as the market reacts to a possible extension of the OPEC-led production-cut deal, as well as risks to global supplies (Turkey’s president threatened to cut off oil exports from a region in northern Iraq). In addition, the U.S. Energy Information administration (EIA) reported that domestic crude oil supplies fell for the week ended Sept. 22, after posting substantial increases in each of the last three weeks.
“Gas prices are getting cheaper by the day for Mid-Atlantic drivers,” said Tammy Arnette, Senior Public AFfairs Specialist for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “With the switchover to winter-blend gasoline, consumer demand beginning to slow and Gulf Coast refineries getting closer to normal operations, consumers can expect gas prices to continue to be less expensive through October.”
Last Friday, OPEC’s Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), charged with monitoring the agreement between OPEC and non-OPEC producers to cut global production by 1.8 million barrels per day, met in Vienna. According to OPEC, the cartel’s strategy is working to help global crude inventories move closer to their five-year average. OPEC’s next formal meeting will be held on November 30 in Vienna, where parties that are a part of the production reduction agreement may decide to deepen and extend the current agreement beyond March 2018.
AAA has a variety of resources to help motorists save on fuel:
- Fuel Price Finder (http://www.AAA.com/
fuelfinder) locates the lowest fuel price in your area. - AAA Gas Cost Calculator (http://gasprices.
aaa.com/aaa-gas-cost- calculator/) helps budget travel expenses. - TripTik Mobile (http://www.aaa.com/
mobile) plots fuel prices along your travel route. - AAA’s Member Rewards Visa® Credit Card (http://www.AAA.com/
financial/AAAvisa.htm) accumulates double points on fuel purchases.
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Chris Graham
