West Virginia Gas Prices Jump; National Average Hits New 2019 High

The average price of gasoline across Northern West Virginia is 10 cents more expensive this week at $2.859 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report. 

Most Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states are seeing large jumps at the pump week-over-week, including West Virginia (+8 cents).  As the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that regional refinery utilization jumped from 81.1% to 87.6%, gasoline stocks grew by 860,000 barrels – the largest build of any region in the country for the week ending April 19.  Despite the increase, overall stock levels are tight at 60 million barrels with summer right around the corner.

This week’s average prices: Northern WV Average                     $2.859
Average price during the week of April 22, 2019                          $2.754
Average price during the week of April 30, 2018                          $2.766

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

$2.899      Bridgeport
$2.853      Clarksburg
$2.869      Huntington
$2.879      Martinsburg
$2.842      Morgantown
$2.855      Parkersburg
$2.849      Weirton
$2.828      Wheeling

On the National Front
With a four-cent jump on the week, today’s national gas price average sets a new high for the year at $2.88.  This average may only be seven cents more than a year ago, but it is nearly 20 cents more than a month ago and 63-cents more expensive than at the beginning of the year.  With 17 states within a dime of or already at $3/gal or more, the national average will likely surpass 2018’s high of $2.97 set during Memorial Day weekend.

At the close of Friday’s formal trading session on the NYMEX, West Texas Intermediate fell $1.91 to settle at $63.30.  Crude prices dipped after Baker Hughes, Inc. revealed that the number of oil rigs in the U.S. fell by 20, landing at 805 last week.  Crude prices increased earlier in the week following the U.S. announcing that it would end the use of waivers for countries to import oil from Iran.  Decreases in Iranian oil exports could tighten the supply in the global market, which has already seen decreases because of the ongoing U.S. sanctions against Iran and Venezuela, and OPEC’s reduced production as a result of its agreement with its partners.

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