US gasoline prices fall to multiyear lows amid low demand

Benchmark US gasoline outright prices have slid to or near multi-year lows in recent days as storage continues to swell and demand remains relatively tepid.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assessed US Gulf Coast benchmark Unleaded 87 (M grade) 4.60 cents lower at $1.8056/gal on Dec. 8, just days after hitting a near two-year low of $1.7921/gal on Dec. 4. Similarly, benchmark CBOB 87 (A grade) gasoline on the USGC saw its outright price assessed near five-year lows on Dec. 8 at $1.6741/gal.

The most recent supply and demand data from the US Energy Information Administration showed USGC gasoline inventories up 3.75 million barrels for the week ended Nov. 28 compared to the same week a year ago.

Market sources have indicated that blending activity has slumped as a result of the high gasoline inventories, with RVP costs and blendstock prices atypically weak.

At New York Harbor, USAC benchmark barge and Buckeye Pipeline CBOB outright prices each were assessed 3.60 cents lower on Dec. 8 at $1.8081/gal, the lowest levels since March 2021, Platts data showed.

Despite the weakening prices, total gasoline inventories on the USAC are near record lows for the season. The latest EIA storage data showed stocks down nearly 5 million barrels year over year for the week ended Nov. 28.

S&P Global Energy CERA analysts said in their recent North America Short-term Outlook for Refined Products in November that "PADD 1 gasoline imports have consistently fallen below five-year averages in 2025."

They added that further declines in Atlantic Coast imports are expected as demand in Europe for gasoline grows and balances in that region tighten.

The weakening outright prices for gasoline have come as the underlying NYMEX RBOB futures contracts have been moving steadily lower since hitting a recent peak in mid-November. Platts data showed that since reaching $2.0116/gal on Nov. 14, the front-month NYMEX RBOB contract has shed 21.35 cents/gal to settle at $1.7981/gal on Dec. 8.

Total product supplied for gasoline, the EIA's proxy for demand, fell 4.6% week over week to 8.33 million b/d for the week ended Nov. 28. Implied demand was down 4.7% from year-ago levels and was the lowest seen during the week of Thanksgiving since 2023, the EIA data showed.

Outright prices for gasoline in other US regions have fallen to multiyear lows as well.

In the Midwest, Group 3 sub-octane (V grade) gasoline was assessed at $1.5781/gal on the day, down 5.35 cents from the prior day and the lowest since early February 2021, Platts data showed.

On the West Coast, Los Angeles CARBOB gasoline's outright price dropped to its lowest level since February 2021 as well, shedding 3.60 cents to $1.7981/gal on Dec. 8.

Recent storage data from the California Energy Commission showed CARBOB stocks up by nearly a half-million barrels year over year for the week ended Nov. 28 at 5.561 million barrels.