Average retail gasoline prices in West Virginia have fallen 1.3 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $2.17/g as of last week, according to GasBuddy’s daily survey of 1,154 gas outlets in West Virginia. This compares with the national average that has fallen 2.9 cents per gallon in the last week to $2.19/g, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com.
Including the change in gas prices in West Virginia during the past week, prices were 22.2 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 4.2 cents per gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 7.0 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 21.0 cents per gallon lower than one year ago.
According to GasBuddy historical data, gasoline prices on September 6 in West Virginia have ranged widely over the last five years: $2.40/g in 2015, $3.49/g in 2014, $3.59/g in 2013, $3.89/g in 2012 and $3.67/g in 2011.
Areas nearby West Virginia and their current gas price climate: Pittsburgh – $2.38/g, down 0.4 cents per gallon from last week’s $2.39/g.; Charleston – $2.16/g, down 1.2 cents per gallon from last week’s $2.17/g.; Virginia – $2.01/g, down 1.7 cents per gallon from last week’s $2.02/g.
“With the summer driving season now behind us, what we see ahead looks terrific for motorists,” said Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy. “Demand decreases for gasoline will accelerate as we progress toward autumn, and combined with the return of winter gasoline next week Friday, gasoline prices will track lower more often than the opposite. The only possible wrench could be a major hurricane that takes aim for the Gulf of Mexico, where many oil rigs and refiners are located, or a sudden cut in oil output from OPEC.”
“As we approach election season, I also fully expect that some politician will seek to take credit for the likely decline in gasoline price as the election looms, which is utter nonsense,” DeHaan added. “Just four states- South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi and New Jersey currently enjoy a state average under $2 per gallon, but by Halloween that number could quadruple.”
