Region spared storm-related hike in gas prices

Hurricane Harvey’s initial landfall drove up gasoline prices in many parts of the country as one quarter of the oil refinery capacity in Texas curtailed operations, but the Northeast has been spared at the pump in the storm’s early stages, according to AAA, though that could change with a surge in the price of wholesale supplies to New York City.

Impacted the most have been gas stations in Indiana and Ohio, where prices rose 11 cents and 9 cents a gallon respectively. On average, Harvey pushed up gas prices nationally 4 cents a gallon on average to $2.38, with the storm continuing to menace Texas and Louisiana heading into Wednesday. Diesel prices nationally were flat at $2.61 a gallon nationally.

By comparison, the average price in southwestern Connecticut was up a halfpenny overnight to $2.56, according to AAA estimates, representing a 3 cent increase from July and up 19 cents from August 2016.

As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Energy reported that all six refineries in the Corpus Christi area and five refineries in the Houston and Galveston area were shut down; combined, the refineries handled 13 percent of U.S. refining capacity, with opera- tors including ExxonMobil, Shell and Valero. Another seven refineries in Texas and Louisiana were operating at reduced rates as Harvey lumbered east toward Lake Charles, La.

OnMonday, the operators of the Colonial Pipeline indicated operations were interrupted at three fuel “injection” stations feeding into the 5,500 mile pipeline, the major land-based spigot for supplies to New York City for distribution throughout the Tri-State area. Stations east of Houston were still operational.

In addition to the Colonial Pipeline, multiple Texas ports remained closed Tuesday. Connecticut has also a heavy reliance on fuel tankers for its supplies.

Helping assuage any initial gasoline shock is a national inventory of supplies at its highest point in 20 years, according to Bloomberg, with the booming stocks resulting in the United States becoming a net exporter of gasoline last year. The same report noted that spot gasoline supply prices to New York City rose to a six-month high at $1.65 a gallon, however, with gasoline futures hitting a twoyear high on the New York City Mercantile Exchange.