NEWS RELEASE
West Central Kentucky gas prices hold steady this week hovering around $2.103 a gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Fuel Gauge report. The national average is $2.210.
On the National Front
Today’s average price for regular unleaded gasoline is $2.21 per gallon, which is one cent cheaper than one week ago, the same price compared to one month ago and three cents more than the same date last year. National gas prices have now dropped for six consecutive days, but the usual seasonal decline has stalled as prices have remained roughly the same since early September.
Pump prices in much of the Midwest have steadied since last week. Prices moved slightly up or down across much of the Great Lakes states including Ohio which is up by 1 cent. Planned maintenance will continue this week at BP’s massive 430,000-barrels per day (b/d) Whiting refinery in Indiana. The refiner helps supply much of the Midwest and any drops in supply resulting from the planned maintenance will likely be balanced by a seasonal drop in demand.
Refinery issues continue to impact prices in Pennsylvania. Drivers should begin to see some relief in the coming weeks as refinery maintenance wraps up. Delta’s Monroe Energy is expected to restart its 53,000-b/d fluid catalytic cracking unit at its Trainer, Pennsylvania refinery this week and PBF’s Paulsboro refinery in New Jersey is also expected to return to normal operations soon. OPIS reports that Irving Oil is expected to restart some units at its 320,000-b/d Canadian refinery in the coming weeks. The maintenance work which started back in September has resulted in price increases for drivers in much of the Northeast.
Traders will continue to closely monitor OPEC negotiations for any indication of an agreement in the days leading up to the next official meeting scheduled for November 30. At the close of Friday’s formal trading session on the NYMEX, West Texas Intermediate was down $1.02 to settle at $48.70 per barrel.
This week’s average prices: Western Central KY Average $2.103
Average price during the week of October 24, 2016 $2.109
Average price during the week of November 2, 2015 $2.043
The following is a list of the average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:
$2.104 Bowling Green
$2.047 Elizabethtown
$2.149 Louisville
$2.083 Owensboro
$2.130 Paducah
Motorists can find current gas prices along their route with the free AAA Mobile app for iPhone, iPad and Android. The app can also be used to map a route, find discounts, book a hotel and access AAA roadside assistance. Learn more at AAA.com/mobile.
AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 82 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members.