Update: Delaware gas price now below year-ago figure

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Delaware gas prices fell another two cents a gallon on Thursday and are now a few pennies below the figure of a year ago.

Still, if OPEC has its way, $3 a gallon gas for Delaware will not become a reality. The lower gas prices are also being driven by fears of a recession that would further cut gas consumption.

AAA reported the recent drop in domestic gas prices may be affected by the results of Sunday’s meeting of OPEC+, a group of 23 oil-producing nations, including Saudi Arabia and Russia. Domestic gasoline prices have dropped 26 cents nationally in the past two weeks. But OPEC+ decided to maintain output cuts of two million barrels per day, about 2% of world demand. The purpose of the move is to boost the global price of oil, which has fallen recently on fears of demand weakness, specifically in China.

AAA’s price finder reported gas prices as low as $3.10 a gallon in Middletown.

Delaware’s average gas prices

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TimeframeRegularMid-GradePremiumDiesel
Current Avg.$3.279$3.773$4.082$5.296
Yesterday Avg.$3.305$3.788$4.077$5.345
Week Ago Avg.$3.468$3.939$4.273$5.626
Month Ago Avg.$3.878$4.262$4.576$5.830
Year Ago Avg.$3.312$3.699$3.934$3.631
From AAA

“Gas prices are dropping sharply and are only a nickel more per gallon than a year ago,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “But with oil being the main ingredient in gasoline, OPEC+’s move could slow this decline. However, the gas price will likely soon be lower than it was a year ago.” 

According to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), gas demand held steady at 3.2 million b/d. Meanwhile, total domestic gasoline stocks rose by nearly 2.8 million barrels to 213.8 million barrels. Increasing supply and steady gasoline demand have contributed to lower gas prices.

On Tuesday, the price of crude oil, which comprises about half of the price of the pump, had fallen a few dollars a barrel from Monday and was in the $73 range.

Crude prices could rise in response to the European Union, Australia, Japan, United States, Canada, and the U.K. beginning to implement a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil, which is meant to limit the country’s revenues in financing the Ukrainian invasion.

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