The Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly data on diesel and gasoline retail prices for the week ended August 21, 2017. At the national level, prices for both fuels declined, though diesel prices edged down only a fraction of a cent. Retail diesel prices increased by 0.2 cents per gallon, while gasoline prices rose by 2.4 cents per gallon.
As noted last week, retail prices tend to follow crude prices, so this week’s increase in retail fuel prices was expected. The lingering weakness in West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices is likely to keep product prices down during the current week, though prices may vary in submarkets.
For the current week ended August 21, diesel prices declined by 0.2 cents to arrive at an average price of $2.596/gallon. Although the decline was small, it broke a string of seven consecutive weeks of rising retail prices for diesel. In the seven weeks between the week ended June 26 and the week ended August 14, diesel prices rose by 13.3 cents per gallon.
PADD 1 retail diesel prices decreased by 0.7 cents to $2.617/gallon. New England prices decreased by 0.9 cents to average $2.616/gallon. Central Atlantic diesel prices fell by 0.5 cents, to an average of $2.756/gallon. Lower Atlantic prices declined by 0.8 cents to average $2.519/gallon. PADD 1 prices were 25.0 cents/gallon above their prices for the same week last year.
In the Midwest PADD 2 market, retail diesel prices declined by 0.3 cents to average $2.567/gallon. Prices were 22.5 cents/gallon above their level for the same week last year.
In the Gulf Coast PADD 3, retail diesel prices decreased by 0.2 cents to average $2.408/gallon. This price was 15.9 cents higher than in the previous year.
In the Rocky Mountains PADD 4 market, retail diesel prices rose by 1.4 cents to $2.715/gallon. This price was 27.9 cents higher than in the prior year.
In the West Coast PADD 5 market, retail diesel prices rose by 0.6 cents to $2.883/gallon. This price was 28.8 cents above its level from last year. Prices excluding California decreased by 0.2 cents to $2.786/gallon, which was 28.8 cents above the retail price for the same week last year. California diesel prices increased by 1.2 cents to an average price of $2.961/gallon, 23.8 cents higher than last year’s price.
U.S. retail gasoline prices dropped by 2.4 cents for the week ended August 21 to an average price of $2.36/gallon. Prices fell in three of five PADDs and rose in the other two. During the most recent week ended August 21, prices were 16.7 cents higher than for the same week in 2016. Prior to this week, gasoline prices had risen for four consecutive weeks, rising by 10.6 cents per gallon between the week ended July 17 and the week ended August 14.
In the East Coast PADD 1, prices for gasoline fell by 2.4 cents to $2.303/gallon. This price was 17.7 cents higher than last year’s price. Prices decreased by 1.5 cents in New England to $2.363/gallon. Central Atlantic market prices dropped by 2.0 cents to $2.434/gallon. Prices in the Lower Atlantic market fell by 3.1 cents to an average price of $2.187/gallon. This was 11.9 cents higher than last year’s average price for the same week.
The largest price drop occurred in the Midwest PADD 2 market, where retail gasoline prices fell by 5.0 cents to average $2.249/gallon. Gasoline pump prices were 7.8 cents higher than they were one year ago.
In the Gulf Coast PADD 3 market, gasoline prices decreased by 2.7 cents to average $2.118/gallon. Prices for the week were 15.4 cents higher than for the same week in 2016.
In the Rocky Mountains PADD 4 market, gasoline pump prices increased by 2.8 cents to average $2.454/gallon. This price was 22.5 cents higher than at the same time in 2016.
In the West Coast PADD 5 market, retail gasoline prices increased by 2.1 cents to average $2.886/gallon. This was 31.3 cents higher than at the same time a year ago. Excluding California, West Coast prices rose by 3.2 cents to an average of $2.641/gallon. This was 28.9 cents higher than at the same time in 2016. In California, prices rose by 1.4 cents to an average pump price of $3.028/gallon. California remains the only state to have average prices reported at above $3 per gallon. Prices were 32.6 cents higher than last year’s price for the same week.
