Gas prices are down, but it’s mainly because of the poor U.S. jobs report that has sent world markets tumbling, because investors aren’t liking that American companies only added 114,000 jobs in July.
“With oil prices plummeting due to new concerns over the U.S. economy after a poor jobs report, gasoline prices have seen downside in many states, with potential for more to join that trend this week as previous refinery disruptions in the Great Lakes region fade away and the restart process begins,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
The tracking website reported Monday that gas prices in Virginia are down 7.1 cents per gallon from a week ago, averaging $3.31 a gallon at the beginning of the business day on Monday.
The national average price of gasoline has fallen 3.5 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.44/g today.
The national average price of diesel has fallen 2.3 cents in the last week and stands at $3.76 per gallon.
Something else to watch for: Hurricane Debby, which is forecast to wreak havoc on the Southeast for the next several days.
And then: new unrest in the Middle East with tensions between Israel and Iran.
“While Tropical Storm Debby drops buckets of rain on Florida and the Southeast, it poses low risk to refineries or refined product pipelines, so the storm is not a major concern,” De Haan said. “With the Middle East on alert after Israel’s attacks on Hamas and Hezbollah, there could be an impact on oil prices; however, with an inability to predict the outcome, I for now expect gasoline prices in most states to gently decline in the week ahead, with the Middle East situation being a wildcard.”
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Chris Graham
