July 28, 2010
AAA FUEL GAUGE: West Virginia Gasoline Prices Edge Up Almost 2 Cents
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
The average price for a gallon of self-serve, regular unleaded gasoline in West Virginia rose 1.7 cents this week. The current price at the pump is $2.749 a gallon.
According to AAA’s Fuel Gauge, oil prices opened at $78.98 a barrel and managed to rise as high as $79.35 on the NYMEX, before closing at $78.90 Monday, July 26.
Several factors influenced the upward pricing trend during this past week. The dollar suffered a substantial hit on Thursday -- declining by about one percent, a number that is considered a large move in the equity markets. This prompted increased crude buying as did the emergence of Tropical Storm Bonnie, the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. As Bonnie moved towards the Gulf, some traders were anticipating the possibility of a disruption in refining operations and decided to do some “just-in-case” buying in the event of a subsequent increase in oil prices. Ultimately, Bonnie fizzled on Saturday without any serious impact on Gulf operations.
Led by news from the U.S. Commerce Department that sales of single-family homes increased 24 percent in June, stocks rose today and crude prices stayed in a higher range, as has been the pattern in recent history. While this is a hopeful sign for the economy, it must be viewed in context along with the fact that foreclosures are still increasing the number of unsold existing homes. In addition, the unemployment rate continues to hover around 10 percent which has kept homebuyers tentative.
Other market fundamentals are also just as likely to keep prices in the $70-$80 per barrel range. Late last week, the Federal Highway Administration released data showing that vehicle miles traveled in the U.S. had posted only a 0.1 percent increase compared to May of last year. This is a significant indicator of overall demand weakness since May is traditionally the beginning of the summer driving season.
High crude inventories, weak demand numbers, and little evidence to suggest a robust long-term economic recovery are all contributing to the relative stability of prices. With these conditions in place, the traditional increases we have witnessed during previous summer driving seasons appear unlikely. Today, the national retail average for a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline is $2.742, down 1.3 cents from this time last month.
This week’s average prices: West Virginia Average . . . . . . . . . . $2.749
Average price during the week of July 20, 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2.732
Average price during the week of July 28, 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2.556
The following is a list of the average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:
$2.799 Bridgeport
$2.787 Clarksburg
$2.735 Huntington
$2.700 Martinsburg
$2.768 Morgantown
$2.751 Parkersburg
$2.732 Weirton
$2.720 Wheeling
AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 80 local offices in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, New York and Kentucky servicing 2.5 million members.
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AAA FUEL GAUGE: West Virginia Gasoline Prices Edge Up Almost 2 Cents
Special to Huntingtonnews.net
The average price for a gallon of self-serve, regular unleaded gasoline in West Virginia rose 1.7 cents this week. The current price at the pump is $2.749 a gallon.
According to AAA’s Fuel Gauge, oil prices opened at $78.98 a barrel and managed to rise as high as $79.35 on the NYMEX, before closing at $78.90 Monday, July 26.
Several factors influenced the upward pricing trend during this past week. The dollar suffered a substantial hit on Thursday -- declining by about one percent, a number that is considered a large move in the equity markets. This prompted increased crude buying as did the emergence of Tropical Storm Bonnie, the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. As Bonnie moved towards the Gulf, some traders were anticipating the possibility of a disruption in refining operations and decided to do some “just-in-case” buying in the event of a subsequent increase in oil prices. Ultimately, Bonnie fizzled on Saturday without any serious impact on Gulf operations.
Led by news from the U.S. Commerce Department that sales of single-family homes increased 24 percent in June, stocks rose today and crude prices stayed in a higher range, as has been the pattern in recent history. While this is a hopeful sign for the economy, it must be viewed in context along with the fact that foreclosures are still increasing the number of unsold existing homes. In addition, the unemployment rate continues to hover around 10 percent which has kept homebuyers tentative.
Other market fundamentals are also just as likely to keep prices in the $70-$80 per barrel range. Late last week, the Federal Highway Administration released data showing that vehicle miles traveled in the U.S. had posted only a 0.1 percent increase compared to May of last year. This is a significant indicator of overall demand weakness since May is traditionally the beginning of the summer driving season.
High crude inventories, weak demand numbers, and little evidence to suggest a robust long-term economic recovery are all contributing to the relative stability of prices. With these conditions in place, the traditional increases we have witnessed during previous summer driving seasons appear unlikely. Today, the national retail average for a gallon of self-serve regular gasoline is $2.742, down 1.3 cents from this time last month.
This week’s average prices: West Virginia Average . . . . . . . . . . $2.749
Average price during the week of July 20, 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2.732
Average price during the week of July 28, 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $2.556
The following is a list of the average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:
$2.799 Bridgeport
$2.787 Clarksburg
$2.735 Huntington
$2.700 Martinsburg
$2.768 Morgantown
$2.751 Parkersburg
$2.732 Weirton
$2.720 Wheeling
AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 80 local offices in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, New York and Kentucky servicing 2.5 million members.
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