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The average price of gasoline across Western Pennsylvania is two cents cheaper this week at $2.792 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

Motorists in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states saw the smallest decreases in gas prices on the week of any region in the country. Most states in the region saw prices decrease by one to two cents or not drop at all (Pennsylvania, down 1 cent).

Gasoline stocks sit at 62.3 million barrels following a draw of 550,000 barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest data.

Regional refinery utilization pushed up a percentage point to 60 percent. The relatively marginal week-over-week changes helped to keep fluctuations minimal.

Despite a 5-million-barrel gasoline deficit compared to this time last year, the region is likely to see gas prices push cheaper or stabilize through early November as seasonal trends set in.

This week’s average prices

Western Pennsylvania Average – $2.792

Average price during the week of Oct. 21, 2019 – $2.816

Average price during the week of Oct. 29, 2018 – $3.039

The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline in various areas:

$2.677 Altoona

$2.898 Beaver

$2.951 Bradford

$2.716 Brookville

$2.689 Butler

$2.852 Clarion

$2.716 Du Bois

$2.788 Erie

$2.769 Greensburg

$2.878 Indiana

$2.859 Jeannette

$2.793 Kittanning

$2.671 Latrobe

$2.862 Meadville

$2.830 Mercer

$2.674 New Castle

$2.786 New Ken.

$2.851 Pittsburgh

$2.644 Sharon

$2.872 Uniontown

$2.940 Warren

$2.702 Washington

The national gas price average dropped by four cents on the week to $2.60, despite a jump in gasoline demand and a dip in gasoline stocks. That is the largest one-week decrease since gas prices started to increase more than six weeks ago. Today’s average is a nickel cheaper than last month and 21 cents cheaper than this time last year.

Refinery maintenance across the country continues, though utilization rates have increased in the last week. This could mean further declines to the national average in the weeks ahead if demand drops.

At the close of Friday’s formal trading session on the NYMEX, West Texas Intermediate increased by 43 cents to settle at $56.66. Crude prices increased last week after an EIA report which revealed that total domestic crude inventories fell by 1.7 million barrels to 433.2 million. Growth in crude exports, from 3.24 million b/d to 3.68 million b/d helped to push crude inventories lower. When compared to last year at this time, export rates are 1.5 million b/d higher. If total domestic crude inventories decrease again, crude prices could increase.

Motorists can find current gas prices nationwide, statewide, and countywide at GasPrices.AAA.com.

AAA East Central is a not-for-profit association with 79 local offices in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia serving 2.7 million members. News releases are available at news.eastcentral.aaa.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.