VENANGO CO., Pa. — The average price of gasoline across Western Pennsylvania increased three cents this week to $2.464 per gallon, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.

Venango County drivers are paying an average of $2.499 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline. In Clarion County, the standard price is $2.457. The average in Mercer County is $2.420.

This week’s average prices: Western Pennsylvania Average $2.464
Average price during the week of August 3, 2020 $2.433
Average price during the week of August 12, 2019 $2.861

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

$2.493 Altoona
$2.450 Beaver
$2.477 Bradford
$2.470 Brookville
$2.451 Butler
$2.457 Clarion
$2.427 DuBois
$2.483 Erie
$2.399 Greensburg
$2.489 Indiana
$2.484 Jeannette
$2.467 Kittanning
$2.482 Latrobe
$2.490 Meadville
$2.504 Mercer
$2.412 New Castle
$2.486 New Kensington
$2.499 Oil City
$2.449 Pittsburgh
$2.420 Sharon
$2.492 Uniontown
$2.499 Warren
$2.400 Washington

Trend Analysis:

On the week, the national average is down a penny from last Monday to $2.17. Most states, aside from Utah (+9 cents), Michigan (+6 cents), and Kentucky (-4 cents), fluctuated no more than three cents. The majority saw gas prices decrease minimally — by one to two cents, or had no change at the pump. Today’s average is two cents less than last month and 49 cents cheaper than a year ago, with August pricing out to be the second cheapest start to the month in more than a decade.

In the latest Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly report, gas demand fell from 8.8 million b/d to 8.6 million b/d while stocks held steady at 247 million barrels.

While Hurricane Isaias did not disrupt gas prices, the 2020 hurricane season is far from over. Last week the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) released the association’s annual August update, which revised the May forecast from 13 to 19 storms to 19-25 through the end of November. This year’s season could be one of the busiest as it has already produced a record-setting nine named storms. Major storms and hurricanes that take crude and gasoline infrastructure and refineries offline have the largest impact on gas prices.

One positive factor for this year, U.S. gasoline supply is plentiful sitting at a 17 million barrels year-over-year surplus. If a major storm or hurricane does hit the U.S., it will be a matter of short-term shortages and how quickly gasoline stocks can get to areas of need.

At the end of Friday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate decreased by 71 cents to settle at $41.22 per barrel. Domestic crude prices decreased last week due to a weak U.S. dollar and after EIA’s weekly report revealed that total domestic inventories decreased by 7.4 million barrels, bringing total domestic stocks to 518.6 million barrels. The decrease in total supply, amid low gasoline demand, could mean that the domestic crude market is rebalancing. Crude prices have the potential to stabilize this week if EIA’s report shows continued growth in demand alongside a reduction in supply.

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