Gas prices creeping up to $3 a gallon mark

Suzanne Elliott, The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.
·2 min read

Mar. 10—You might want to think about filling your gas tank sooner rather than later.

The average price for a gallon of gasoline in West Virginia is $2.73 a gallon, with prices in the Morgantown area at least 15 cents more a gallon, according to GasBuddy.com, a national app that tracks the price of fuel nationwide.

And don't be surprised if the price of a gallon of gas hits the $3 mark by summer and perhaps sooner, said John Deskins, director of West Virginia University's Bureau of Business & Economic Research.

"It's the law of supply and demand, " he said.

Nationally, the price of gasoline has increased by more than 50 cents since the beginning of the year There are several reasons for the hike, industry experts said.

First, gas prices are tied to the price of West Texas Intermediate (oil), which was trading at $47.47 a barrel on Jan. 1, according to Forbes magazine. On March 1, the price was $60.54 a barrel. In the interim, the price of oil increased by 31 cents a gallon and the price of a gallon of gas jumped 46 cents.

The recent icy weather did not help matters either. Refinery utilization was at 83 % the first part of February, but the weather impacted roughly a dozen refineries in Texas, pushing utilization down to 56 % by the end of the month.

And finally, OPEC — Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries — agreed earlier this month not to significantly increase oil production.

"Extending the production cuts maintains a growing imbalance between demand and supply, and puts pressure on oil prices to rise, should global demand continue to recover, " said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, in a news release. "A continued recovery seems likely, led by American motorists filling their tanks at the fastest pace since the pandemic began."

"I predict the national average now has 70 % odds of reaching $3 per gallon, a level not seen since 2014, primarily due to OPEC's opposition to raising oil production."

Local prices varied from a low of $2.71 a gallon at the Exxon at 1157 Van Voorhis Road, to $2.93 a gallon at the Sheetz on Chestnut Ridge Road.

Nationally, West Virginia ranks 25th in the country in gas prices. North Dakota was 24th on the list at $2.743 cents, while Indiana was 26th at $2.72.9 cents, GasBuddy said.

California has the highest gas prices at $3.75.7, followed by Hawaii at $3.73 and Washington state at $3.137 cents.

Mississippi had the cheapest prices at $2.457, with Louisiana at 49th at $2.482 cents and Texas at 48th at $2.482 cents.

TWEET @41SUZANNE