NOTTINGHAM, Md. — U.S. gas prices held flat over the past week at a national average of $4.24 per gallon, staying above the $4 mark as voters prepare to head to the polls for the midterm elections.
Data released Monday by tracking service GasBuddy showed the national average was unchanged from a week ago, though it remains 22.3 cents lower than last month and $1.24 per gallon higher than at this time last year. The figures were compiled from more than 12 million price reports at over 150,000 gas stations nationwide.
The national average for diesel edged up 4.0 cents over the past week to $6.340 per gallon.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, noted that while pump prices declined across a majority of states, a sharp regional price spike in the Great Lakes caused by refinery issues offset broader drops. Though that local disruption has begun to resolve, overall energy relief remains out of reach for drivers.
Pump prices are holding at elevated levels despite state-level fuel tax cuts and federal policy interventions aimed at lowering costs.
In energy trading, benchmark crude futures pulled back slightly early Monday following a recent rally. West Texas Intermediate fell $2.05 to $101.22 per barrel, while Brent crude declined $1.51 to $115.21 per barrel. Despite the daily dip, both crude benchmarks hovered near six-month highs amid ongoing shipping security risks and geopolitical tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration for the week ending Oct. 16, domestic commercial crude oil inventories dropped by 3.1 million barrels, leaving stocks roughly 3% below the five-year seasonal average. Strategic Petroleum Reserve crude inventories decreased by 0.3 million barrels to 282.7 million barrels.
Gasoline inventories fell by 3.0 million barrels, sitting about 5% below five-year seasonal norms, while distillate stocks grew by 1.7 million barrels to remain about 9% below average. U.S. refinery utilization dipped slightly to 93.4%, while implied gasoline demand grew by 575,000 barrels per day to 8.982 million barrels per day.
At the retail level, $3.99 per gallon stood as the most common price encountered by drivers across the country, followed by $3.89, $4.09, $4.19, and $4.79. The national median gas price remained at $4.09 per gallon, about 15 cents below the national average.
Station prices varied widely across the country. The lowest 10% of stations averaged $3.44 per gallon, while the highest 10% averaged $5.66 per gallon. North Carolina reported the lowest state average at $3.46 per gallon, followed by Georgia at $3.61 and Texas at $3.67. California recorded the highest state average at $5.97 per gallon, followed by Hawaii at $5.63 and Washington at $5.23.
The largest weekly state-level increases occurred in Ohio, where prices jumped 38.4 cents per gallon, followed by Michigan (up 34.6 cents), Wisconsin (up 34.6 cents), Illinois (up 23.0 cents), and Colorado (up 19.7 cents).
In diesel markets, the most common price rose 20 cents to $6.19 per gallon, which also matched the national median price. Diesel prices ranged from an average of $5.47 per gallon among the lowest 10% of stations to $6.98 per gallon among the top 10%.
North Carolina registered the lowest state average for diesel at $5.53 per gallon, while California recorded the highest at $8.42. The largest weekly gains for diesel were recorded in Michigan (up 39.8 cents per gallon), Ohio (up 30.9 cents), Indiana (up 26.1 cents), Wisconsin (up 21.9 cents), and Hawaii (up 20.3 cents).
In and around northeastern Baltimore County, the cheapest gas this week could be found at these locations…