RICHMOND, VA (November 1, 2021)—Today’s national average for a gallon of gas is $3.40, rising just two cents in the last week, the smallest weekly increase in a month.
News that Iranian oil, which has not been sold globally in large quantities since 2018, may return to the world market coupled with an OPEC+ meeting scheduled for Thursday via videoconference, is increasing market volatility, but slowing gas price increases, at least for now.
“We have finally seen a little dip in domestic demand for gasoline, which may signal that the typical post-Labor Day drop off was just a bit delayed this year,” says Morgan Dean, spokesperson for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “And, if the recent steady increase in crude oil prices takes a breather too, consumers will likely see smaller price hikes at the pump.”
That would be welcomed news in Virginia where the average price of gas today is $3.29 – up 29 cents in a month, making Virginia one of the top ten states with the largest jump since Oct. 1. Virginia's average is up a penny from last week and is $1.25 more expensive that this day one year ago.
Even though gas prices did not increase as much on the week, pump prices will likely continue to rise as long as the price of crude remains above $80 per barrel.
According to new data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), total domestic gasoline stocks decreased by 2 million bbl to 215.7 million bbl last week. Gasoline demand also fell from 9.63 million b/d to 9.32 million b/d. The drop in demand has helped slow price increases, but elevated crude prices continue to put upward market pressure on pump prices.
Today’s national average of $3.40 is 21 cents more than a month ago and $1.27 more than a year ago, and 79 cents more than in 2019.