Gas Prices Tick Up as Holiday Travel Increases; Hurricane Season Impact Revealed

Gas prices across the United States have risen slightly after weeks of steady decline, with the national average for a gallon of gas now at $3.04, an increase of two cents since last week. According to AAA, the rise comes amid a forecasted record 119 million holiday travelers, 107 million of whom are expected to travel by car.

Data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows a modest increase in gasoline demand, rising from 8.81 million barrels per day (b/d) to 8.92 million b/d over the past week. At the same time, domestic gasoline stocks grew by 2.3 million barrels, reaching 222 million barrels, despite a decrease in gasoline production, which averaged 9.9 million barrels daily last week.

Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson, noted that while gas prices have been on a downward trend, significant factors such as holiday travel may prevent a drop below $3. “Despite some reports to the contrary, the national average never fell below $3 this year, and it might not as a record 119 million people are forecast to travel this holiday season,” Gross said.

This year’s hurricane season led to substantial unplanned crude oil production outages in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The EIA reported outages averaging 295,000 barrels per day in September and 110,000 barrels per day in November, accounting for 16% and 5% of total crude oil production in the Gulf during those months. However, the disruptions caused only a minor and temporary rise in gas prices, with costs resuming a seasonal decline shortly thereafter.

Crude oil prices have also seen minor fluctuations. On Wednesday, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose by 50 cents to close at $70.58 per barrel. U.S. crude oil inventories decreased slightly by 0.9 million barrels to 421.0 million barrels, which is about 6% below the five-year average for this time of year.

Hawaii continues to lead the nation with the most expensive gas at $4.54 per gallon, followed by California ($4.31) and Washington ($3.91). On the other end of the spectrum, Oklahoma offers the lowest average price at $2.58 per gallon, with Mississippi ($2.60) and Arkansas ($2.65) rounding out the top three least expensive states.

The average national cost for public EV charging remains at 34 cents per kilowatt hour. The least expensive states for public charging include Kansas (22 cents), Missouri (24 cents), and Nebraska (24 cents). Meanwhile, Hawaii has the highest cost at 56 cents per kilowatt hour, followed by Montana (45 cents) and West Virginia (44 cents).

AAA anticipates relative price stability as holiday travel increases and domestic gasoline supplies remain robust. While the rise in demand has had a marginal impact on prices, Gross emphasized the broader stability of the market: “We could be heading into a period of relative stability when it comes to pump prices.”

Image: AAA