Prices at the pump should get more expensive this week thanks to an increase in oil prices and high demand for gasoline.
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Gasoline prices are decreasing this Monday morning after spiking Thursday and Friday, just in time for weekend fill-ups.
The lowest Northeast Ohio prices are about $2 in Greater Cleveland, and slightly lower in Akron, GasBuddy’s consumer members are reporting.
Oil prices have tumbled from their 2014 highs of more than $100 a barrel, bottoming out at under $30 in mid-February, because of a worldwide glut.
The national average price is the highest so far in 2016 as prices rose in all 50 states over the past week.
Across the country 37.6% of stations are still priced below $2. Nationally, the average price rose 8.1 cents.
According to the U.S. EIA’s latest forecast, low oil prices are expected to contribute to a decline in U.S. oil production from the lower 48 states in 2017. By Tuesday oil prices had begun rising and gained ground daily.
Attention now turns to other factors that may help bring the market more into balance, including reports and projections of global crude oil demand and any news from the US that may also potentially impact prices. Gas prices typically fall in the winter months.
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Only seven states reported gas prices below $2 a gallon this week, down from 13 states in the prior week. The estimate included the usual price run-up between May and the July Fourth holidays. Gasoline prices may continue inching up until Memorial Day – a major test if refiners are well-prepared for the summer driving season. Despite this, the industry still anticipates Americans are likely to consume some of the highest levels of gasoline ever before seen.
