Today’s national average price for a gallon of gasoline is $2.85, which is down five cents from last week. One year ago, the price was $2.27. The New York State average is $3.02, which is down three cents from last week. A year ago, the NYS average was $2.44. AAA Western and Central New York (AAA WCNY) reports the following averages:
· Batavia - $2.98 (down 1 cent since last week)
· Buffalo - $3.00 (down 1 cent since last week)
· Ithaca - $2.91 (down 4 cents since last week)
· Rochester - $2.96 (down 3 cents since last week)
· Rome - $2.99 (down 4 cents since last week)
· Syracuse - $2.91 (down 4 cents since last week)
· Watertown - $3.07 (down 1 cent since last week)
OPEC’s announcement Friday to increase oil production (potentially 600,000 – 1 million b/d) is expected to decrease crude oil prices and in turn lower pump prices. The increase in production will help to offset the shrinking global supply caused by high global demand seen in 2018.
Until we have a clear picture of the extent of production increases, it is unknown how dramatically this news will impact pump prices. However, U.S. pump prices will likely not see any immediate impact from the OPEC news.
Beyond the OPEC news, U.S. gas prices have been declining for the past month. This is in advance of a record-breaking Independence Day travel period. AAA expects 46.9 million Americans to travel 50 miles or more, with the majority (39.7 million) taking road trips.