“For now, gas prices will likely continue to trend higher.” Industry analyst explains why.
Published 5:34 am Monday, March 18, 2024
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Most Americans continued to see average gasoline prices march higher last week.
The reason is gasoline demand is rising as more Americans are getting out, combined with the summer gasoline switchover, which is well underway, and continued refinery maintenance, according to Patrick De Haan.
The head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy said the madness should slow down in the next few weeks as there is positive data that refinery output is starting to increase, a sign the peak of maintenance season could be behind us.
“For now, gas prices will likely continue to trend higher, but the fever may break soon,” De Haan said.
“When it comes to diesel, the news has been good — above average temperatures have lowered heating oil demand, and average diesel prices are on the cusp of falling back below $4 per gallon.”
Average gasoline prices in Texas have risen 14.8 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.04/g today, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 13,114 stations in Texas.
Prices in Texas are 15.1 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 2.8 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.
The national average price of diesel has declined 2.2 cents in the last week and stands at $4 per gallon.
According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Texas was priced at $2.29/g Sunday while the most expensive was $3.99/g, a difference of $1.70/g.
The national average price of gasoline has risen 4.4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.44/g today.
The national average is up 18.7 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 1.6 cents per gallon higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.
Neighboring areas and their current gas prices:
• Midland Odessa – $3.19/g, up 23.1 cents per gallon from last week’s $2.96/g.
• San Antonio – $2.95/g, up 16.6 cents per gallon from last week’s $2.79/g.
• Austin – $2.98/g, up 14.5 cents per gallon from last week’s $2.83/g.
Historical gasoline prices in Texas and the national average going back ten years:
March 18, 2023: $3.01/g (U.S. Average: $3.43/g)
March 18, 2022: $3.92/g (U.S. Average: $4.27/g)
March 18, 2021: $2.64/g (U.S. Average: $2.87/g)
March 18, 2020: $1.93/g (U.S. Average: $2.16/g)
March 18, 2019: $2.32/g (U.S. Average: $2.56/g)
March 18, 2018: $2.31/g (U.S. Average: $2.54/g)
March 18, 2017: $2.07/g (U.S. Average: $2.29/g)
March 18, 2016: $1.82/g (U.S. Average: $1.98/g)
March 18, 2015: $2.22/g (U.S. Average: $2.42/g)
March 18, 2014: $3.29/g (U.S. Average: $3.52/g)