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Phil Flynn, Senior Analyst at Price Futures Group, on factors contributing to rising gasoline prices.
National average gas prices could rise 10 to 20 cents per gallon in the coming weeks due to “extreme cold shutting down millions of barrels per day in refining capacity” in Texas, says analyst oil company of GasBuddy, Patrick De Haan.
“What we see will depend on how quickly or how slowly the affected refineries can get back online,” De Haan told FOX Business. “In addition, the continued improvement in the COVID-19 pandemic will likely continue to help propel demand towards the recovery.”
OIL AND GAS PRICES SAVE AS FROST PARALIZES TEXAS
DeHaan data shows gasoline prices in the United States rose for the sixth week in a row, with the national average gaining 2.6 cents per gallon last week to $ 2.50 per gallon on Tuesday. The national average price of diesel climbed 7.2 cents last week to $ 2.68 per gallon.
GasBuddy’s data is compiled from more than 11 million individual price reports covering more than 150,000 gas stations across the country.
Part of the reason for the price increase according to De Haan is “improved demand in the United States”, and noted that the increase has “nothing to do with who sits in the White House, but rather with the number of motorists who fill their tanks … on a daily basis. “
“This situation will last as long as OPEC continues to restrict its oil production, creating the situation in which demand recovers faster than supply,” he added. “The situation will not improve – just wait until spring – the national average is likely to rise another 10 to 50 cents per gallon if oil production does not meet the continued recovery in demand.”
THE EXXON MOBIL AND ARAMCO TEXAS REFINERIES TEMPORARILY SHUT DOWN FOR AN UNEXPECTED MID-WINTER FREEZE
Gasbuddy data indicates that crude oil prices have jumped 15% in the past two weeks. A barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil hit $ 60.55 a barrel in Monday’s trading session, down from $ 57.44 last Monday and 15% from $ 52.68 two weeks ago. Brent crude also rallied to $ 63.11 a barrel early Monday, from $ 59.93 a week ago.
Prices continued to climb on Tuesday, with West Texas Intermediate crude oil rising 58 cents, or 1%, to $ 60.05. Natural gas soared 22 cents, or nearly 7.5% – largely due to freezing temperatures that hit the country from the Ohio Valley to the Gulf Coast.
A Feb. 10 report from the Energy Information Administration found a 6.6 million barrels drop in crude oil inventories, while gasoline inventories jumped about 4.3 million barrels.
According to GasBuddy, oil inventories are now just 2% higher than the five-year average for this time of year, while gasoline inventories remain at the five-year average, but below levels of previous years. is one year old. Distillate inventories have fallen by 1.7 million barrels but remain at a healthy level 7% above the five-year average.
The company’s report also noted that refiners increased production last week, with utilization rising 0.7% to 83% of capacity. Implied demand for gasoline also rose to almost 90,000 barrels.
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The latest gasoline demand figures from GasBuddy show domestic demand increased 1.90% for the week ending February 13. % and the west coast saw an increase of 1.70%.
Data from GasBuddy showed the East Coast likely saw a recovery in demand for gasoline due to “the drop in the previous week as a major snow event hampered free travel in the area.”
The most common U.S. gasoline price encountered by motorists has increased by 10 cents per gallon to $ 2.39 per gallon, according to the fuel app and website data. The median price in the United States is $ 2.41 per gallon, up 3 cents from last week and about 9 cents lower than the national average.
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The states with the lowest average prices were Mississippi ($ 2.15), Louisiana ($ 2.17) and Texas ($ 2.19), while the most expensive states were California (3, $ 45), Hawaii ($ 3.31) and Washington ($ 2.87).
Jonathan Garber of Fox Business contributed to this report
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