Oil prices back to more than $70 per barrel; analyst shares impact for Texas motorists

Published 5:16 am Monday, May 15, 2023

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Oil prices bounced back to more than $70 per barrel after reaching as low as $66 in early May.

Gasoline prices have moved higher in some states, while others have continued to decline, yet the national average has seen little change as a result. Overall, gasoline prices continue to see significant relief from year-ago levels, according to Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.

“We’re likely to soon see gasoline prices slip to their largest year-on-year deficit since COVID hit, when prices fell over $1 per gallon from 2019, so the relief at the pump has been significant,” De Haan said. “Even though the gas price decline hit pause last week, it’s looking more likely that barring a major hurricane or series of refinery outages, the national average may not end up hitting the $4 per gallon mark — something that will make most motorists very happy.”

Average gasoline prices in Texas have risen 4.7 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.06/g today, according to GasBuddy’s survey of 13,114 stations in Texas.

Prices in Texas are 28.9 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 106.5 cents per gallon lower than a year ago.

The national average price of diesel has fallen 4.0 cents in the last week and stands at $3.97 per gallon.
According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Texas was priced at $2.69/g Sunday while the most expensive was $4.17/g, a difference of $1.48/g.

The national average price of gasoline has risen .4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.51/g today.

The national average is down 14.9 cents per gallon from a month ago and stands 95.6 cents per gallon lower than a year ago, according to GasBuddy data compiled from more than 11 million weekly price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country.

Neighboring areas and their current gas prices:

• Midland Odessa – $3.08/g, unchanged  from last week’s $3.08/g.
• San Antonio – $3.05/g, up 9.6 cents per gallon from last week’s $2.96/g.
• Austin – $3.09/g, up 5.7 cents per gallon from last week’s $3.03/g.

Historical gasoline prices in Texas and the national average going back ten years:

May 15, 2022: $4.13/g (U.S. Average: $4.46/g)
May 15, 2021: $2.76/g (U.S. Average: $3.04/g)
May 15, 2020: $1.55/g (U.S. Average: $1.86/g)
May 15, 2019: $2.56/g (U.S. Average: $2.86/g)
May 15, 2018: $2.65/g (U.S. Average: $2.89/g)
May 15, 2017: $2.15/g (U.S. Average: $2.33/g)
May 15, 2016: $1.98/g (U.S. Average: $2.22/g)
May 15, 2015: $2.48/g (U.S. Average: $2.70/g)
May 15, 2014: $3.41/g (U.S. Average: $3.64/g)
May 15, 2013: $3.40/g (U.S. Average: $3.59/g)