Gas Prices in Virginia Are Still Significantly Higher Than Last Year

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA (April 19, 2021)—There has been very little movement with prices at the pump in the Commonwealth this week. Prices from the previous year in Virginia have seen a 98-cent difference at the pump. Compared to a year ago, gas prices are very expensive as mid-April 2020 was prime quarantine time across the country.

“Motorists in Virginia have seen flat gas prices partly due to refinery utilization nearly back to pre-pandemic levels and gasoline stocks building up amid lower crude oil prices,” said Holly Dalby, spokesperson for AAA Tidewater Virginia. “However, crude started to see some upward movement this week, which could translate to small increases at the pump by the end of April.”

At 85%, refinery operations are at their fullest capacity since the week of March 23, 2020, according to Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. Should this positive utilization trend continue, it could help to offset increases in demand and help the national average stay under $3/gallon.

At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, WTI decreased by 30 cents to settle at $63.13. Although prices ended the day down, due to the market consolidating pricing contracts, the price of crude gained over $3.80 per barrel last week. Continuing market optimism that crude demand may increase more than expected due to increasing vaccine rollouts helped to lift prices. Additionally, EIA’s weekly report revealed that total domestic crude inventory decreased by 5.9 million bbl to 492.4 million bbl, contributing to price increases. If crude prices continue to rise and remain high, pump prices will likely follow suit.

As part of North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA Tidewater Virginia provides its more than 350,000 members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding AAA Tidewater Virginia has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. For more information, visit AAA.com and follow us on Twitter at Twitter.com/AAATidewaterVA or Facebook at facebook.com/AAATidewaterVirginia.