Oil price drop leads to lower prices at the pump

After holding steady last week, the average price for a gallon of gas in Pennsylvania is 4.2 cents lower this week at $3.730 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report. 

In the Lehigh Valley the price dropped to $3.656 per gallon on May 2, down from $3.723 on April 25. 

AAA said that lower oil prices are causing pump prices to fall, with the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline dropping six cents since last week to hit $3.61.  

The latest national average is 9.1 cents more than a month ago but is 59.4 cents less than a year ago. 

At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate decreased by $2.77 to settle at $74.30.  

Oil prices fell amid ongoing market concerns that low consumer confidence could contribute to a recession this year, AAA said.  

Additionally, the EIA reported that total domestic commercial crude inventories decreased by 5.1 million barrels to 460.9 million barrels last week.        

According to new data from the Energy Information Administration, gas demand increased significantly from 8.52 to 9.51 million barrels per day last week.  

Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 2.4 million barrels to 221.1 million barrels. Higher demand, alongside a decline in stocks, would typically push pump prices up; however, fluctuating oil prices have pushed them lower.