The average price of gasoline across Northern West Virginia is five cents cheaper this week at $2.089 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.
This week’s average prices: Northern WV Average $2.089
Average price during the week of August 3, 2020 $2.133
Average price during the week of August 12, 2019 $2.608
The following is a list of the average prices in several West Virginia locations:
$2.111 Bridgeport
$2.103 Clarksburg
$1.930 Huntington
$2.253 Martinsburg
$2.115 Morgantown
$1.891 Parkersburg
$2.205 Weirton
$2.102 Wheeling
Trend Analysis:
On the week, the national average is down a penny from last Monday to $2.17. Most states, aside from Utah (+9 cents), Michigan (+6 cents), and Kentucky (-4 cents), fluctuated no more than three cents. The majority saw gas prices decrease minimally – by one to two cents, or had no change at the pump. Today’s average is two cents less than last month and 49 cents cheaper than a year ago, with August pricing out to be the second cheapest start to the month in more than a decade.
In the latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly report, gas demand fell from 8.8 million b/d to 8.6 million b/d while stocks held steady at 247 million barrels.
While Hurricane Isaias did not disrupt gas prices, the 2020 hurricane season is far from over. Last week the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) released the association’s annual August update, which revised the May forecast from 13 to 19 storms to 19-25 through the end of November. This year’s season could be one of the busiest as it has already produced a record-setting nine named storms. Major storms and hurricanes that take crude and gasoline infrastructure and refineries offline have the largest impact on gas prices.
One positive factor for this year, U.S. gasoline supply is plentiful sitting at a 17 million barrels year-over-year surplus. If a major storm or hurricane does hit the U.S., it will be a matter of short-term shortages and how quickly gasoline stocks can get to areas of need.