Fuel price increases likely to abate

Houston-area gasoline prices have risen past $2 a gallon, but shrinking demand and cheaper winter-grade fuels could push prices lower next month and help the U.S. set a record for consumption by the end of the year.

The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the Houston area rose 5 cents in the past week to $2.02 on Monday, equaling the statewide average, and the national average rose 4 cents to $2.22 per gallon, according to GasBuddy, which tracks prices at the pump and refining activity.

The higher pump prices were brought on by rising crude prices this month and the last days of summer’s usual strong demand, GasBuddy said.

But a “double whammy of downward pressure” brought on by the end of the summer driving season after Labor Day and a switch to cheaper, winter-grade fuel on Sept. 15 will again push pump prices lower.

“While the final note may be a bit sour, the sweetness of what is still the cheapest summer gas in a decade will linger,” Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum

analyst for GasBuddy, said in a statement.

The lower gasoline prices and a bump in sales of SUVs and pickups, coupled with population growth and shrinking unemployment, have put the U.S. on track to consume 9.31 million barrels per day during 2016, the Department of Energy says, breaking the record set in 2007.

Locally, the price per gallon ranged from $1.69 in the Cypress area to $2.79 near the Galleria, according to GasBuddy. Around the nation, only South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi still reported average gasoline prices below $2 a gallon, according to AAA.

AAA said the higher gasoline prices could also be attributed to decreased fuel production caused by flood-related refinery outages this month in Louisiana.

Exxon Mobil temporarily shut down much of the production at its massive Baton Rouge Refinery, and Motiva Enterprises scaled back operations at its Covent Refinery.