All Fueled Up and Nowhere to Go

According to the signs standing proudly outside local gas stations, there’s almost never been a better time to hit the road. At the same time, there’s never been more reason to stay at home.

The bizarre tug-of-war between today’s shockingly low pump prices and the need to self-isolate seems tailor-made to frustrate drivers everywhere; it’s a situation that only benefits those with a cabin in the deep, dark woods in some remote corner of the continent, as well as whatever commercial fleets are still in operation. Your author envies those folks with cabins.

I’ve read online how to skin and quarter a squirrel, and I’m prepared to do it. That said, you probably didn’t come here for Appalachian crock pot recipes and .22 Long Rifle ballistics.

As the global oversupply of crude oil due to the coronavirus pandemic — as well as production jousting between Russia and Saudi Arabia — leads to a price crash, let’s take a look at the latest figures.

According to the American Automobile Association, today’s Lower 48 average pump price for regular unleaded stands at $2.129 a gallon, down from $2.140 on Sunday, $2.257 a week ago, and $2.474 a month ago. GasBuddy.com puts the national average somewhere around $2.07 for regular. Diesel has fallen to $2.667.

This marks the lowest average gas price since May of 2015, when pump prices were on the rise after falling as low as $1.70 a gallon in February of that year. A year earlier, in early winter 2014, prices flirted with the 2-dollar mark very briefly.

As it stands, 29 U.S. states boast an average pump price below the $2/gallon marker. California, no surprise, holds the lead for the priciest gas in the Lower 48, at an average of $3.201 a gallon. That’s down from $3.489 a month ago. On the other side of the coin, Oklahoma rang in the new week with an average of $1.715. That state joins Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, South Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin in the sub-$1.90 camp.

With the exception of the Northeastern states (minus Maine, currently poised to plunge below $2), most every state with borders starting east of the Continental Divide are either flirting with $2 or are already well below. And sadly, which each passing day comes further restrictions on travel and social interaction. Road trips are off the table from coast to coast.

How low will pump prices go? There’s room for further declines, what with gasoline futures sinking to 50 cents a gallon in Monday trading. That’s the lowest point since the current contract hit Wall Street in 2005, and, when factoring the previous contract, the lowest since markets were roiled by the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

Both West Texas and Brent crude slipped again today, falling to $22.50 and $28.49 a barrel, respectively, at last check.

It’s enough to make one dream of big-displacement product and endless highways. For now, though, I’d settle for just a little less uncertainty.

[Image: CC7/Shutterstock]