AAA says it’s due to an abundance of gasoline, and low crude oil prices.
Frederick, Md, (KM) Low gasoline prices have been a treat for many Marylanders and other Americans who have been traveling by car this summer. AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman Christine Delise says motorists are paying the lowest prices since April, mostly due to an abundance of gasoline and low crude oil prices.
“We’ve been seeing oil trading near lows not seen since spring. The commodity even was trading below $40 per barrel last week. So that is helping to keep prices in check,” Delise says.
According to AAA, the price of crude oil traded at $42.82 as of Monday at 10:11 AM. The auto club says the average price of unleaded regular gasoline in Maryland during the week of August 8th stands at $2.08 per gallon, which is three-cents lower than last week at this time. The national average is $2.12 per gallon, according to AAA.
“We’re anticipating that these prices are likely to remain cheap through the remainder of the summer, and into the fall based on the high supply of gasoline and low oil prices,” says Delise.
But all of those prices could go higher, she says, if a hurricane in Gulf of Mexico and more political instability in the Middle East disrupts worldwide oil production.
Delise also notes that the OPEC oil cartel is holding meeting in late September and its member nations could decide then to reduce production which would bring up the price of gasoline. She says this could affect the United States, even though the country has been weaning its way off of foreign oil, and increasing its domestic production. “We’ve grown to new records in terms of oil production here in the States. But the market is global and sometimes what happens abroad can still affect us in the States,” she says.
For those who are traveling and want to find the lowest possible price in the area they’re visiting, AAA says you can visit Fuel Price Finder to locate the gas station with the lowest price. (www.aaa.com/fuelfinder).