AAA Says Gas Prices Leveling Off

The auto club says they’re expected to remain steady for the rest of summer.


Gasoline prices appear to be leveling off in Maryland and across the country. AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price at the pump in the state is $2.29 per gallon, which is four-cents lower than the national average of $2.32 per gallon.

Spokeswoman Christine Delise says prices usually go up during the summer driving season, but that’s not happening now. “Unlike many recent years, the supply appear to be meeting the growing the demand, and, as a result, prices have held relatively steady and are lower than a year ago. And there even starting to come down over the past two weeks,” she says.

Last year at this time, the average price in Maryland was $2.77 per gallon; nationally, it was $2.78 per gallon.

Delise says there’s been an abundance supply of gasoline, and that’s kept prices from going up.

AAA says on Thursday, West Texas Intermediate crude closed above $50 per barrel for the first time in two weeks. The price for WTI had been settling at $50 per barrel during the past two weeks, and that’s kept crude relatively less expensive than in recent years, according to the auto club.

Delise says gas prices are expected to remain stable for the rest of the summer. “Gasoline inventories, if they can stay sufficient, if we have no geopolitical issues,  or anything possibly hurricane-related that could disrupt the supply of oil and gasoline, we should see prices hold steady,” she says.