For the first time in over a month, the nation’s average price of gasoline declined, falling 4.0 cents from a week ago to $3.78 per gallon. The national average is up 5.8 cents from a month ago but 3.5 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average diesel price rose 3.3 cents in the last week to $4.33 per gallon, 70.7 cents lower than one year ago.
However, GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan says, “The drop may be short-lived, as one of the nation’s largest refineries partially shut last week after a fire at a storage tank, and as we see more tropical activity that could lead to further disruption.” After rallying for seven straight weeks, oil prices have lost some of their luster, much of which can be blamed on continued weakness in China’s economy, and refinery issues in the U.S. limiting how much crude oil refineries will be able to process.
