Gas prices continue to rise, but refinery output could reverse trend (2024)

Gasoline prices continue to rise, but an increase in refinery output could eventually reverse the trend, a national analyst said Monday.

“Most Americans continued to see average gasoline prices march higher last week,” Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, a fuel price-tracking service, said in a blog post.

“The reason is the season: Gasoline demand is rising as more Americans are getting out, combined with the summer gasoline switchover, which is well underway, and continued refinery maintenance,” he said.

“The madness should slow down in the next few weeks as we’ve seen positive data that refinery output is starting to increase, a sign that the peak of maintenance season could be behind us.”

In some positive news for Midwest motorists, De Haan said, a refinery in Whiting, Indiana, that can process 440,000 barrels of oil per day is back to normal operations for the first time since an electrical failure happened in early February.

“For now, gas prices will likely continue to trend higher, but the fever may break soon,” he said.

The price at Tulsa-area QuikTrips was $3.29 per gallon on Monday, according to GasBuddy.

That’s about a 15-cent increase from a few days ago.

Nonetheless, Oklahoma remains one of the states with the lowest average prices at $3.03 per gallon, according to GasBuddy.

The others are Mississippi ($3.01) and Colorado ($3.03).

The states with the highest average prices are California ($4.87), Hawaii ($4.69) and Washington ($4.27).

For the third consecutive week, the nation’s average price of gasoline has risen, climbing 4.4 cents from a week ago to $3.44 per gallon on Monday, according to GasBuddy.

The national average is up 18.7 cents from a month ago and 1.6 cents per gallon higher than a year ago.

Oklahoma also had the lowest average diesel price in the U.S. at $3.57, followed by Texas ($3.62) and Mississippi ($3.65).

The states with the highest average diesel prices were Hawaii ($5.61), California ($5.34) and Washington ($4.61).

“When it comes to diesel, the news has been good — above-average temperatures have lowered heating oil demand, and average diesel prices are on the cusp of falling back below $4 per gallon,” De Haan said.

The national average price of diesel has declined 2.2 cents in the last week and stands at $4 per gallon — 28 cents lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy.

“Coming up this week,” De Haan said, “oil markets will likely be watching comments from the Fed’s two-day meeting, though expectations are for rates to remain unchanged.”

Benchmark U.S. crude oil for April delivery rose $1.68 to $82.72 per barrel Monday.

Wholesale gasoline for April delivery rose 4 cents to $2.76 a gallon.

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