Gas prices and the summer driving season

Crude oil prices dropped at the end of last week following Wednesday's move by the Federal Reserve Board to raise interest rates by 0.75%.

According to an American Automobile Association analysis, the anticipated slowing in economic growth because of the recent rate hike could cause crude demand to decline — and with it, perhaps a drop in prices at the pump.

The average U.S. price for a gallon of regular gasoline dipped by a penny Saturday to $4.99.

Missouri's average price stood at $4.67 over the weekend.

Patrick De Haan, chief petroleum analyst for www.gasbuddy.com, in an interview with the Southeast Missourian last week, cautioned it may be premature to think prices have plateaued.

"It's obviously a struggle to accurately make a prediction but I'll say if we see any major unexpected future disruption — whether from a new natural disaster like a hurricane knocking out a refinery or the geopolitical situation worsening — we could see the national average hit the $6 mark. If we can maintain the status quo today, I have doubts we'll get to that level (but) prices can get worse before they get better," he said.

The COVID impact, De Haan said, should not be forgotten and continues to be felt more than two years after the pandemic hit the U.S.

"It's expensive to be in the oil refinery business and the profit margins there have never been that high. During COVID, demand dried up. Restaurants, airlines and all manner of businesses felt the sting and refiners did, too. Some refineries shut down as a result, and a few actually have been dismantled," he said, also citing the loss of refining capacity last summer because of billion-dollar damage caused by Hurricane Ida in Louisiana plus a 2019 fire at a Philadelphia refinery.

"Nobody wants to build a refinery overnight because refineries have been never been lucrative," De Haan added, noting gasoline inventories are at their lowest level in nearly a decade.

Local prices

According to www.gasbuddy.com, the following prices were noted at service stations in Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Perryville and Scott City on Saturday.

• Cape Girardeau: $4.39; $4.45; $4.49.
• Jackson: $4.25; $4.36; $4.39; $4.49.
• Perryville: $4.44; $4.45; $4.49.
• Scott City: $4.49.

The Southeast Missourian does not associate prices with particular service stations because of rapid market volatility plus the realities of the newspaper's publication schedule.

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