While still elevated, oil prices have dipped slightly, well off the high-water mark we saw back in April. Patrick DeHaan, the senior petroleum analyst with Gasbuddy.com, says there are several things helping oil prices.
Oil prices are also being helped by China, which, over the past couple of months, reduced its import consumption dramatically, falling from 11 million barrels of oil a day before the war to a little over nine million barrels in April. DeHaan added that those numbers could drop even more in June.
One of the bigger concerns right now is the U.S. Strategic Reserve, which continues to decline roughly eight to ten million barrels weekly.
When it comes to fuel prices, DeHaan noted the West Coast continues to pay some of the highest prices in the nation, with Hawaii, California, and Washington recording the highest gasoline and diesel prices.
