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AAA: Gas Prices Dip in WV; Nation Enters 2021 on a Lower Note at the Pump

   The average price of gasoline across Northern West Virginia is a penny lower this week at $2.119 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

   This week’s average prices: Northern WV Average                           $2.124

   Average price during the week of December 28, 2020                      $2.096

   Average price during the week of January 6, 2020                            $2.624

  The following is a list of the average prices in several West Virginia locations: 

$2.119      Bridgeport

$2.071      Clarksburg

$1.961      Huntington

$2.357      Martinsburg

$2.145      Morgantown

$1.995      Parkersburg

$2.153      Weirton

$2.154      Wheeling

   Trend Analysis:

   While the national gas price average ($2.25) is nine cents more than last month, January gas prices are already 33 cents cheaper than this time last year. That is the largest year-over-year difference at the beginning of January since 2015.

   Today’s average has remained unchanged for the past 12 days. This pump price stability is credited to consistent crude oil prices in late December, about $47-48/barrel, combined with low demand. U.S. gasoline demand, as recorded by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), was at the lowest level for the last week of December in 23 years (since 1998) – at 8.1 million b/d.

   AAA expects demand to dwindle in coming weeks and gas prices to likely be cheaper, especially if crude oil holds at the current price point. How high or low gas prices will go in 2021 will largely depend on crude oil prices, supply and demand. AAA expects that as the Coronavirus vaccine becomes more widely available and if states loosen travel restrictions, Americans will begin to drive more which will lead to an impact at the pump.

   Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at GasPrices.AAA.com.