Gasoline in the US spun three weeks down

The price of regular gasoline in the United States fell for its third consecutive week -during which it fell 4.11%- and is already at its lowest level since the end of September, resuming the downward cycle that had begun early June.

In the week ended October 31, regular gasoline was quoted on average at 3.57 dollars per gallon, a reduction of 1.08% compared to last week, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA, for its acronym in English). ) from the United States.

“The national average is approaching the previous low in September, which was interrupted when refinery problems caused prices to skyrocket… With those problems resolved, the West has seen prices fall, including a decline of nearly 90 percent. cents per gallon in California in less than a month,” said Patrick De Haan, head of oil analysis at GasBuddy.

Refinery problems put pressure on supply and interrupted a 14-week losing streak in fuel prices in September, which had started after gasoline hit its all-time high at the beginning of the sixth month of the year ( $4,844 per gallon).

After those 14 weeks, the price of fuel stood at $3,513 per gallon, however, thanks to supply problems, the price increased for three consecutive weeks to $3,723 per gallon in the week ending October 10.

Last week’s decline occurred despite the fact that international oil prices rose more than 2% in the international market due to OPEC agreements.

The US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 3.35%, closing the week at $87.90 per barrel, while the benchmark for Europe, North Sea Brent, rose 2.43% to $95.77 per barrel.

For its part, the price of the Mexican export mix rose 2.30%, to 82.61 dollars per barrel, according to data from Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex).

According to the International Energy Agency (EIA), the price of gasoline is made up as follows: 56% for crude oil, 20% for the refining process, 11% for distribution and marketing, while the remaining 14% They are taxes.

The analyst at GasBuddy, a firm that compiles fuel prices throughout the United States, commented that although last week’s reduction is good news for most regions, “the Northeast (of the country) it opposes the trend and experiences a notable increase due to the shortage of supply”.

“Add in diesel prices staying high amid extremely tight supply, and there are definitely some challenges ahead,” said Patrick De Haan. Since the June peak, the price of fuel has plummeted 26.30 percent, while in the year it accumulates a rise of 13.84 percent.

termometro.economico@eleconomista.mx