Press release from AAA:
Today’s national average price for a gallon of gasoline is $2.22, up 6 cents from last week. One year ago, the price was $2.55. The New York State average is $2.30 – up 4 cents from last week. A year ago, the NYS average was $2.69. AAA Western and Central New York (AAA WCNY) reports the following averages:
- Batavia -- $2.23 (up 1 cent since last week)
- Buffalo -- $2.24 (up 5 cents since last week)
- Ithaca -- $2.26 (up 1 cent since last week)
- Rochester -- $2.27 (up 4 cents since last week)
- Rome -- $2.35 (up 2 cents since last week)
- Syracuse -- $2.26 (up 8 cents since last week)
- Watertown -- $2.33 (up 3 cents since last week)
After gas demand reached a low point recently, it is now on the rise according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). The latest report shows that gas demand increased while supplies tightened amid lower refinery utilization. After decreasing for four weeks, the increase in gas demand has helped to push pump prices up across the country.
The increase in the national average is likely temporary as the country enters the winter driving season — a time when gas demand typically hits the lowest levels for the year.
Crude prices also rose due to a weak dollar and increasing investment based on market optimism that coronavirus vaccines will help crude oil demand recover in 2021. Higher crude prices have also helped to lift pump prices since the price of oil makes up over half of the cost of gasoline. Continued positive news about the vaccines will continue helping the domestic price of crude rise.
From GasBuddy:
"The sudden spike in gas prices last week was brought on by a continued rise in the price of oil, which jumped last week to nearly $50 per barrel, the highest we've seen since March, when prices collapsed due to COVID-19," said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. "While last week's gas price surge isn't likely to repeat this week, it could be a sign of things to come in the year ahead.
"A weakening U.S. dollar and vaccine optimism continued to push oil higher last week, along with stock markets. While some are wrongly pointing to the coming shift in the White House as driving up prices, I can assure motorists that what we're seeing has nothing to do with such a change and everything to do with market optimism that demand will rise, and the weaker dollar, which makes oil cheaper to anyone holding non-dollar currencies, putting upward pressure on demand."
