Coronavirus keeps gasoline demand, and prices, low for drivers in Fresno and the Valley
Demand for gasoline in California and the U.S. remains in the doldrums as many drivers comply with stay-at-home guidelines to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. That means gas prices are continuing to fall nationwide, including in Fresno and the San Joaquin Valley.
On Monday, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in the Fresno market was $2.56 per gallon, according to AAA Gas Prices. That average – which encompasses all gas stations in a community – is 51 cents per gallon less than a month ago, when the effects of the coronavirus pandemic were beginning to be felt in California.
The average price in Fresno has fallen by 90 cents per gallon since the first week of 2020.
But at many individual gas stations, prices are much lower than that market average. GasBuddy.com, a website and mobile app in which drivers report the prices they find at gas stations in real time across the country, shows that one of the cheapest prices in Fresno on Monday was $1.99 per gallon at Fresno Central Market in central Fresno, at McKenzie Avenue and Fresno Street.
Nation-members of OPEC recently reached a deal to cut oil production in an effort to stabilize prices, said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. But those production cuts won’t take effect until May 1, and even then may not have much effect because global demand for oil is so low.
“When you step back and look at this predicament, it all stems from the coronavirus in one way or another,” DeHaan told The Fresno Bee on Monday. “And it continues to get worse and worse.”
For drivers, that means prices are likely to stay low – and even continue to fall – “for quite some time,” DeHaan said.
“With oil again at new multi-decade lows, we still have room for prices to fall nearly countrywide, though areas with lower prices will see little decline, …” he added, “while higher-priced states like California have the most room to decline. “
This is the time of year when California drivers generally see prices start to rise, with increased demand and a changeover to more expensive, cleaner-burning summer fuel formulations. This year is different, and It’s uncertain when prices may start ticking upward again.
“It really depends on how quickly the nation turns around. Will most of us get back to work in one month, or two or three months?” DeHaan said. “When the bulk of the nation starts to fill up their tanks more often, we’ll start to see a modest prices recovery.”
But, he added, “I don’t think it’s going to be a spike. It’ll probably be gradual. Six months from now, we still may be saying that prices are artificially low because of the coronavirus.”
This story was originally published April 20, 2020 at 2:40 PM.
