CAMARILLO, Calif. --The U.S. average retail price of regular grade gasoline dipped 3.46 cents per gallon over the past two weeks, to $3.3113, according to the most recent Lundberg Survey of approximately 2,500 U.S. gas stations. It now sits 3.3 cents under its year-ago point.
This street price drop matches nearly perfectly the weighted average wholesale price drop: Refiners cut regular grade by 3.58 cents to jobbers, dealers and other retailers during the period, who then chopped that 3.46 cents off their street prices.
Falling ethanol prices during the period added a bit of impetus to the gasoline price decline.
Early 2014 is marked by very flush gasoline supplies, and formidable refinery run rates despite extreme winter weather. Retail gasoline margin gained a small fraction of a penny and remains close to 15 cents per gallon on regular.
If crude oil price changes among the various key grades are not big on the upside, consumers may see another couple of pennies decline at the pump near term.
Camarillo, Calif.-based Lundberg Survey Inc. is an independent market research company specializing in the U.S. petroleum marketing and related industries.
Click here for previous Lundberg Survey reports in CSP Daily News.
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