The combination of an increased production of oil across the globe plus a drop in demand continues to send gasoline prices in a downward spiral, including in Oklahoma where the new statewide average is $2.22 per gallon.
A week ago, Oklahoma’s average price was $2.30 a gallon and one month ago, the average price was $2.60 a gallon, making for a 38-cent drop in the past four weeks according to AAA Oklahoma.
The Energy Information Administration says crude inventories, such as those at the Cushing, Oklahoma Hub continue to build in the eight consecutive week. Total domestic inventories are more than 442 million barrels which is 16.9 million bbl lower than last year at this time. But US crude production also was at its highest rate on record last week since the EIA started tracking it in 1983.
Oklahoma is among the top ten states with the cheapest gasoline in the U.S. where the national average is $2.56 a gallon. The state’s average compares to $2.19 in Missouri, $2.24 in Texas, $2.51 in New Mexico, $2.68 in Colorado, $2.30 in Arkansas and $2.29 in Kansas.
In Oklahoma, the cheapest prices are in the northeast where Wagoner County’s average is $2.04 a gallon and tulsa has an average price of $2.05. Pottawatomie County’s average is $2.07 while the average in adjacent Oklahoma County is $2.13.
The highest prices are in the west including $2.90 a gallon in Harmon in southwest Oklahoma. Beaver County in the Panhandle has an average price of $2.73 a gallon while the average in Ellis County is $2.69.
In some cases, motorists can encounter much cheaper prices by driving to the next county. Take for instance, drivers in Garfield County where Enid is the county seat pay a average of $2.21 a gallon. But in Alfalfa County where Alva is the largest city, drivers pay 22 cents more per gallon on average.
