VIRGINIA BEACH — Barely budging since June, the national average for a gallon of gas squeaked out a two-penny increase to $3.52 since last week, according to AAA.
The national average has hovered around $3.50 per gallon since June 26.
“Some of the uptick in gasoline prices may be due to a reported storm-related outage at the ExxonMobil refinery in Joliet, Illinois. That’s contributing to higher pump prices in the upper Midwest,” said Ryan Adcock, AAA Tidewater spokesperson. “Meanwhile, oil prices have fallen quite a bit lately. In April, a barrel of oil was in the upper $80s, but today, it is $10 a barrel cheaper. That might mitigate any upward pressure on pump prices.”
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand rose unexpectedly from 8.78 million barrels per day to 9.45 million last week, while total domestic gasoline stocks fell from 233 million barrels to 227.4 million. Gasoline production rose last week, averaging 10.2 million barrels per day. According to AAA, higher gasoline demand with lower oil costs may keep pump prices relatively stable for now.
Thursday’s national average is $3.52, six cents more than a month ago but 11 cents less than a year ago.
Locally, the gas price average for the Commonwealth decreased to $3.41 — three cents lower than a week ago and ten cents higher than a month ago. In Hampton Roads, prices decreased eight cents to $3.33, which is 11 cents higher than last month and 15 cents lower than a year ago.
