Crude oil prices fell between $3 and $4 a barrel last week, touching prices not seen since mid-June after OPEC+ members, for a fifth straight month, agreed upon another production increase – this time of more than 500,000 barrels a day in September. The decision by the group marks the complete unwinding of the 2.2 million barrel-a-day cuts instituted in 2022 in an effort to prop up oil prices that cratered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lower oil costs helped negate potential price impacts caused by last week’s domestic supply and demand data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which showed inventories continue to tighten as stockpiles of crude oil and gasoline declined by 3 million barrels and 1.3 million barrels respectively. In the Northeast, inventories of gasoline fell by 800,000 barrels from the prior week, the EIA reported, and now sit 900,000 barrels below last year’s levels.
Demand for gasoline, meanwhile, dipped 112,000 barrels a day to 9.04 million barrels a day – a figure considered disappointing for a summer week, but still 74,000 barrels a day higher than the same week last year. Demand in 2023 was 260,000 barrels a day higher, according to EIA data.
“Oil and gas markets are being pulled in different directions and ultimately edging lower as the potential for increased global oil supply takes focus,” said Mark Schieldrop, senior spokesperson for AAA Northeast. “Increased production by OPEC+ countries in the fall could accelerate the traditional seasonal decline in gasoline prices we usually see in late summer.”
AAA Northeast’s Aug. 11 survey of fuel prices found the national average down two cents from last week ($3.15), averaging $3.13 per gallon. The national average price was three cents lower than a month ago ($3.16) and 31 cents lower than the same day last year ($3.44).
| Region | Current Price* | One Week Ago | One Month Ago | One Year Ago |
| Massachusetts | $3.06 | $3.07 | $3.05 | $3.43 |
| Rhode Island | $3.04 | $3.05 | $3.03 | $3.35 |
| Connecticut | $3.11 | $3.12 | $3.14 | $3.48 |
| New York | $3.17 | $3.17 | $3.18 | $3.56 |
| New Jersey | $3.05 | $3.07 | $3.07 | $3.29 |
*Prices as of Aug.11, 2025
The AAA Gas Prices website is your resource for up-to-date fuel price information. Search for average gas prices on national, state and metro levels by regular, plus, premium and diesel.
