WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 (UPI) — Refinery issues are again keeping gas prices higher for U.S. consumers who are watching crude oil fall to historic lows, retail market analysts said.
Motor club AAA reports a national average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline at a fraction of a penny above the $2 mark, only marginally higher than the national average for Monday, but unchanged from this time last week.
The motor club said falling gasoline prices have been the prevailing trend since early November, with drivers paying the lowest price on average for the Christmas holiday since 2009. Another prevailing trend has been refinery issues, with unexpected maintenance issues in the Great Lakes region and California holding the national average above the $2 mark.
Will Speer, an analyst with retail price watchdog GasBuddy, said it was largely California, where the state-wide average price of $2.84 is more than $1 higher than the low-water mark of $1.75 for Arkansas, pulling the national average price for gasoline higher.
“As the refining issues impacting California aren’t expected to be resolved this week, California may continue to inflate the national gas price average into the new year,” he said in a statement.
Looking ahead, AAA said it expects the national average price to continue to slide because of the dynamics in the crude oil market. Brent crude oil, the global benchmark price, is approaching an 11-year low because of weak global economic demand and higher production or expected production from countries like Iran.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration in a mid-December report said it expected a full-year 2016 average price at the pump of $2.36 per gallon, lower than the expected 2015 average by about 3 percent.
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