Oil war, pandemic fuel drop in gas prices
Butler County's gas stations have followed a national trend of falling prices.
“Typically gas prices start to trend more expensive at the beginning of spring, especially as motorists get out to enjoy the warmer weather and travel for spring break. That is not the case this year,” said Jeanette Casselano, a spokeswoman with AAA.
According to Monday's AAA report, the national average of gas was at $2.12, which is 50 cents less than it was this time last year.
Pennsylvania is still middle-of-the-pack in terms of average gas prices, but shared in the overall pricing decrease.
One year ago, an average gallon of gas in the state cost $2.79; one month ago $2.68; one week ago $2.47 and yesterday $2.35.
Today on average in the state, one gallon of gas cost $2.35, and Butler County's own gas price average mirrors that of the state.
Jim Garrity, another AAA spokesman, said crude oil prices have been hovering around $20 a barrel, and the steep drop in price happened quickly.
“We haven't seen crude oil prices this low in nearly 20 years,” Garrity said.
Garrity said crude oil saw a major drop in price due to the oil war between Russia and Saudi Arabia that began earlier this month.
He said the coronavirus pandemic exploding in the midst of this war may create a lasting impact on gas prices moving forward.
“It'll be interesting to see what happens in the next couple of months,” Garrity said. “We, like the rest of the world, are paying attention to what's happening with the coronavirus pandemic.”
Casselano said people staying at home will continue to restrict the demand of gasoline and in turn oil, as oil constitutes an estimated 50 percent of gasoline prices.
“With Americans urged to stay at home and practice social distancing to slow the spread of coronavirus, we are seeing less traffic on the roadways, which will ultimately drive down demand, increase gasoline supply and push pump prices less expensive for the foreseeable future,” Casselano said.
