Gas prices rise more than $1 in past month
Pennsylvania’s average gas price is $3.943 per gallon this week, with the Lehigh Valley at $3.928 on March 23 as national prices climb about $1.02 from last month.
The average price for a gallon of gas is 24 cents higher in Pennsylvania this week at $3.943, according to AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report.
In the Lehigh Valley, the average price for a gallon of gas reached $3.928 on March 23, up from $3.687 on March 16 and up from $3.115 one year ago.
The increase reflects the national trend, where prices are now $1.02 higher than last month. The impact from the Iran situation combined with seasonal increases are main contributors of the price increases, AAA said in a release.
Total domestic gasoline supply decreased from 249.5 million barrels to 244.0 million. Gasoline production decreased last week, averaging 9.4 million barrels per day.
At the close of Wednesday’s formal trading session, West Texas Intermediate rose 11 cents to settle at $96.32 a barrel.
The EIA reports that crude oil inventories increased by 6.2 million barrels from the previous week. At 449.3 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are about 1% below the five-year average for this time of year.