The auto club says Colonial Pipeline shut down had no impact on prices at the pump.
Frederick, Md. (KM) The shutdown of the Colonial Pipeline in the southeastern United States on Oct. 31st due to an explosion had no impact on gasoline prices in Maryland, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic. Ragina Cooper Averella, Manager of Public and Government Affairs, says the price at the pump has remained relatively flat in recent weeks. “Here in Maryland, we’re at $2.20 per gallon, down a penny from last week. So that’s actually good news,” she says.
A month ago, the average price in Maryland was $2.26 per gallon, and a year ago, it was $2.20 per gallon.
The auto club says gas prices in the Salisbury area experienced an average increase of seven cents gallon over the week of the shutdown. The pipeline was returned to service on November 6th.
“We’re expecting to see that prices could actually retreat even more in some areas, particularly as we approach the Thanksgiving Holiday,” says Averella.
AAA says at the close of trading on NYMEX, the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil had settled at $44.66 per barrel. At the present time, the Energy Information Administration reports that oil inventories increased by 2.4-million barrels to a total of 485-million barrels, which is 30.2-million barrels more than last year.
OPEC’s Secretary General says the cartel is still committed to developing a deal to cut oil production, but no formal agreement has been signed. AAA says that could impact oil prices in the US.
Even though a lot of Americans will travel by car to their Thanksgiving Day Holiday destinations, Averella says demand for gasoline is expected to go up, but prices are not expected to increase. “We’ll see an increase in demand, yes. Whether or not that translates into an increase in prices, we’ll have to see.”
By Kevin McManus