Despite a national report that gas prices are expected to go up, the prices of a gallon of gasoline in the Cowboy State are trending down. But that’s not expected to last long with the approaching travel season.
Average gasoline prices in Wyoming have fallen 2.2 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.07/g today, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 494 stations in Wyoming. Prices in Wyoming are 27.1 cents per gallon higher than a month ago and stand 25.9 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has declined 2.2 cents in the last week and stands at $4.00 per gallon.
According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Wyoming was priced at $2.73/g yesterday while the most expensive was $3.79/g, a difference of $1.06/g. The lowest price in the state yesterday was $2.73/g while the highest was $3.79/g, a difference of $1.06/g.
The national average price of gasoline has risen 4.4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.44/g today. The national average is up 18.7 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 1.6 cents per gallon higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.
“This week, Gulf Coast refiners, which account for nearly 50% of the nation’s refining capacity began to transition to the more expensive summer grade gasoline blends. That means that higher prices are ahead for consumers,” wrote Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates in a note to clients on Wednesday.
“I expect further increases of another 10 to 15 cents per gallon over the next two weeks.”
California refiners have started producing the more expensive summer grade of gasoline over the past six weeks, resulting in increased prices of $0.25 per gallon, according to Lipow.
On-going refinery maintenance has also resulted in tighter supplies and lower stockpiles, with the latest industry data from the American Petroleum Institute showing a draw in crude and gasoline inventories last week.
Lipow also noted BP’s Whiting, Ind., refinery, the largest in the Midwest, is still recovering from the impacts of a power outage caused by cold weather on Feb. 1.
Gasoline prices typically rise heading into the spring as more motorists get on the road after a winter lull.
“Most Americans continued to see average gasoline prices march higher last week. The reason is the season: gasoline demand is rising as more Americans are getting out, combined with the summer gasoline switchover, which is well underway, and continued refinery maintenance,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “The madness should slow down in the next few weeks as we’ve seen positive data that refinery output is starting to increase, a sign that the peak of maintenance season could be behind us. In some positive news for Midwest motorists, the bp refinery in Whiting, Indiana that can process 440,000 barrels of oil per day is finally back to normal operations for the first time since an electrical failure happened in early February. For now, gas prices will likely continue to trend higher, but the fever may break soon. When it comes to diesel, the news has been good – above average temperatures have lowered heating oil demand, and average diesel prices are on the cusp of falling back below $4 per gallon.”
