Western Pa. gas prices drop nearly 2 cents
PITTSBURGH – Western Pennsylvania gas prices went down about 2 cents a gallon this week to $3.484, according to AAA East Central’s Fuel Gauge report released Tuesday.
AAA East Central surveys more than 513 Western Pennsylvania gas stations on a weekly basis.
It said the cheapest unleaded regular gas was $3.389 in Erie and New Castle and the most expensive was $3.522 in Jeannette.
In Washington County, the average price this week is $3.501.
The price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas statewide Tuesday was $3.426.
This week’s average price in Western Pennsylvania of $3.484 was down 1.8 cents from last week’s average of $3.502. The latest price was 6.8 cents lower than the average price of $3.542 for week of Sept. 24, 2013.
The regional figures are slightly higher than the national average price of $3.34 per gallon.
According to AAA, western states continue to post the highest average gas prices and for the second week in a row, Hawaii is the only state where drivers are paying an average price above $4 per gallon.
With gas prices falling, consumers in every state and Washington, D.C., are experiencing week-over-week savings at the pump, with the average price in 17 states reflecting savings of a nickel or more.
AAA said drivers in every state are also paying less than one month ago. The largest monthly drops are seen in Ohio (-24 cents), Nevada (-18 cents) and New Mexico (-18 cents).
The latest round of U.S. sanctions on Russia and the recent eruption of violence in Libya leading to the shutdown of oil fields remain of interest to commodities market watchers. Despite these geopolitical tensions, global oil prices continue to test multi-year lows. At the close of Monday’s formal trading on the NYMEX, West Texas Intermediate crude oil settled 89 cents lower at $91.52 per barrel. This marks not just a new 2014 low, but it is the cheapest settlement price dating to May 1, 2013.