Analysis by Dr. Nancy Yamaguchi
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly data on diesel and gasoline retail prices for the week ended June 26, 2017. The past five weeks brought a significant decline in crude prices, leading to nationwide declines in retail gasoline and diesel prices. For the current week, prices for diesel decreased by 2.4 cents per gallon, while gasoline prices dropped by 3.0 cents per gallon.
For the current week ended June 26, diesel prices fell by 2.4 cents to settle at an average price of $2.465/gallon.
PADD 1 retail diesel prices decreased by 2.3 cents to $2.516/gallon. New England prices declined by 1.3 cents to average $2.516/gallon. Central Atlantic diesel prices also declined by 1.3 cents, to an average of $2.67/gallon. Lower Atlantic prices dropped by 3.1 cents to average $2.396/gallon. PADD 1 prices were 8.6 cents/gallon above their prices for the same week last year.
In the Midwest PADD 2 market, retail diesel prices fell by 2.5 cents to average $2.386/gallon. Prices were 0.03 cents/gallon below their level for the same week last year.
In the Gulf Coast PADD 3, retail diesel prices dropped by 2.49 cents to $2.305/gallon. This price was 2.0 cents higher than in the previous year.
In the Rocky Mountains PADD 4 market, retail diesel prices dropped by 3.3 cents to $2.592/gallon. This price was 16.3 cents higher than in the prior year.
In the West Coast PADD 5 market, retail diesel prices decreased by 2.5 cents to average $2.757/gallon. This price was 4.4 cents above its level from last year. Prices excluding California fell by 2.9 cents to $2.626/gallon, which was 2.6 cents above the retail price for the same week last year. California diesel prices fell by 2.1 cents to an average price of $2.863/gallon, 6.0 cents higher than last year’s price.
U.S. retail gasoline prices dropped by 3.0 cents for the week ended June 26, to $2.228/gallon. Prices during the week ended June 12 were significant because for the first time in 2017, the weekly prices fell below the weekly price for the same week in 2016. During the most recent week ended June 26, prices were 4.1 cents lower than for the same week in 2016. As the following figure illustrates, year-2017 gasoline prices were well above year-2016 prices until this month. During the first quarter of 2017, retail gasoline prices were 44 cents per gallon higher than they were during the first quarter of 2016.
In the East Coast PADD 1, prices for gasoline fell by 4.0 cents to $2.227/gallon. This price was 3.0 cents lower than last year’s price. Prices fell by 2.1 cents in New England to $2.295/gallon. Central Atlantic market prices fell by 3.1 cents to $2.365/gallon. Prices in the Lower Atlantic market dropped by 5.2 cents, bringing prices to an average of $2.104/gallon. This was 7.9 cents lower than last year’s average price for the same week.
The Midwest PADD 2 market saw retail gasoline prices fall by one penny to average $2.171/gallon. Three weeks ago, PADD 2 became the first PADD to have prices fall below their levels of last year. Gasoline pump prices were 12.0 cents lower than they were one year ago.
In the Gulf Coast PADD 3 market, gasoline prices dropped by 3.8 cents to average $2.053/gallon. Prices for the week were 4.4 cents lower than for the same week in 2016.
In the Rocky Mountains PADD 4 market, gasoline pump prices declined by 2.5 cents to average $2.389/gallon. This price was 7.0 cents higher than at the same time in 2016.
In the West Coast PADD 5 market, retail gasoline prices dropped by 3.4 cents to an average price of $2.826/gallon. This was 6.2 cents higher than at the same time a year ago. Excluding California, prices eased by 2.0 cents to an average of $2.606/gallon. This was 12.6 cents higher than at the same time in 2016. In California, prices dropped by 4.3 cents to an average pump price of $2.953/gallon. By the week ended June 12, California had remained the only state market where gasoline prices exceeded $3/gallon. By the next week, all major states had prices fall below the $3/gallon mark. California prices were 2.3 cents higher than last year’s price for the same week.
Los Angeles prices dropped by a hefty 6.3 cents to average $2.909/gallon. San Francisco pump prices decreased by 3.2 cents to average $3.065/gallon, 12.7 cents above last year’s price. Seattle prices decreased 2.2 cents to average $2.819/gallon, 19.6 cents higher than prices one year ago.
