Grant County gas prices fall
MOSES LAKE — Grant County motorists were paying the lowest gas prices in the state on Tuesday, with the average price countywide at about $1.80 per gallon, according to information from the fuel price reporting company Gas Buddy.
That compares with a statewide average of $2.50 per gallon, Gas Buddy notes on its website, and an average of $2.25 in Adams County, $2.04 in Douglas County, and $1.90 in Kittitas County.
“Nobody is using it,” said Allison Mac, a petroleum analyst for Gas Buddy. “It’s all supply and demand. People aren’t driving, they aren’t flying, they’re not traveling. People don’t need it.”
According to the Gas Buddy app, the lowest prices in Grant County on Tuesday were in Quincy, with some stations charging $1.37 per gallon or $1.39.
In Moses Lake, the lowest prices for regular unleaded gasoline was $1.59.
The fall in retail fuel prices comes as the country is struggling with the COVID-19 outbreak, with governors in a number of states closing schools and workplaces and banning large gatherings.
“The national average price is $1.77 per gallon, and that’s the lowest since 2016,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for Gas Buddy, during a livestream presentation on Facebook Tuesday morning. “Prices will continue to come down, so hopefully those of you who are filling your tanks will continue to enjoy the fall in prices.”
DeHaan said the strange and unprecedented event of crude oil futures falling deeply in negative territory on Monday was a “sign of the turbulent times” but does not mean oil companies will start paying people to fill their tanks.
Between taxes, refining and transportation, gasoline will still cost drivers something, DeHaan said.
On Monday, the price of West Texas Intermediate — the global benchmark for crude oil prices — for delivery in May ended trading on Monday at -$37.63 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. According to DeHaan, the negative price was a reflection that there was simply too much oil, too little demand for it, and no place to store it.
“Essentially, you saw people paying people to take the oil they had purchased,” DeHaan said. “This is truly an unprecedented time.”
While briefly trading in negative territory on Tuesday, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in May closed at $9.06 per barrel, while the June contract closed at $13.48.
DeHaan said he expects the national average to fall another 30 cents or so to $1.49 per gallon, noting that a number of states already enjoy 99 cents per gallon.
“More states will see 99 cents,” he said.
At 49.4 cents per gallon, Washington has the nation’s fourth-highest gasoline taxes behind California, Pennsylvania and Illinois.
Moses Lake is also the endpoint for Phillips 66’s 710-mile long Yellowstone 1 pipeline that delivers refined petroleum products like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel from refineries in Helena, Bozeman, Missoula and Billings, Mont. The company’s Moses Lake terminal has a storage capacity of 216,000 barrels of refined products, according to information available on the Phillips 66 website.
Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at [email protected].
