Pittsburgh-area gas prices leaving drivers frustrated as rest of the country seeing declining prices
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Is the price of gas here in the Pittsburgh area frustrating you right now? If so, you're not alone.
It turns out that here in Western Pennsylvania, we're on an island of higher prices while the rest of the country is seeing prices come down.
KDKA's John Shumway is here to explain.
Forty of 50 states saw prices on the retreat this week, including Pennsylvania, but not here in Pittsburgh.
"It's a little wonky," said Patrick De Haan, oil and gas expert with GasBuddy. "We've kind of gone in the wrong direction when everyone else is kind of going in the right direction."
Those aren't the words any of us want to hear right now.
"For Pennsylvania, the statewide average is down about two and a half cents a gallon in the last week," De Haan said. "Pittsburgh in the last week has been stagnant holding at about $3.91 a gallon. Prices took a noticeable jump starting on the 10th of September from $3.80 all the way to $3.90."
Right in the middle of that jump, the requirement for the gas stations to sell us the higher-priced summer blend came to an end.
"That is the end of the requirement by the EPA to use summer gasoline that ended Sept. 15," De Haan said. "And so now we should see a little bit of price improvement."
However, simultaneously, the refineries that serve our regions dropped their production by 17%.. De Haan says this is most likely for maintenance.
"A 17% percentage point drop in utilization is a huge drop in one week," De Haan said. "Your prices may not go down as quickly for gasoline as much as the rest of the country. And for diesel. This is even more worrisome."
If the trucks pay more for fuel, it's going have an impact on prices at places like grocery stores, retail outlets, hardware stores, and more.
On a positive note, De Haan says that he expects prices could drop by 15 to 30 cents per gallon by the holidays at the end of the year.