Sheetz’s Lower Gas Prices Give Drivers Some Temporary Relief
The Sheetz chain of gas stations and convenience stores is dropping its price of gas to $3.99 per gallon. When is Sheetz lowering gas prices?
July 1 2022, Published 5:43 a.m. ET
Gas station and convenience store chain Sheetz, is dropping the prices of two types of gas to give some respite to drivers. However, the drop isn't permanent. So, when is Sheetz lowering gas prices?
Sheetz operates over 640 locations throughout Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio, and North Carolina. Travis Sheetz is the company's president and CEO, and several other executive leadership roles are held by Sheetz family members.
Sheetz lowering gas prices for Independence Day travel
In a news release on June 28, Sheetz announced that, effective immediately, it's lowering its fuel prices to $3.99 a gallon for unleaded 88 and $3.49 a gallon for E85. The cut, effective at all of Sheetz’s locations, is to help drivers through Independence Day travel. The discounted rate will last until the evening of July 5.
The rates announced by the gas station chain are much lower than national and local averages. According to the AAA, the national average for regular gasoline was $4.857 and $4.107 for E85, as of June 30.
Check you car's user manual before filling up a Sheetz
A word of caution when filling up at Sheetz: unleaded 88 can be used in your vehicle if it's a 2001 or newer, and E85 contains more ethanol and is designed for flexible fuel vehicles. GasBuddy recommends checking your user manual before filling up with gasoline.
High gas prices and U.S. consumers
U.S. drivers have been struggling with high gas prices for a long time. Prices have been high since April 2020, as demand recovered much faster than expected, creating a supply-demand imbalance. Russia's invasion of Ukraine made matters worse. After the U.S. sanctioned Russian oil imports, gas prices rose domestically.
Recently, average prices surged past $5 per gallon, setting a record. State averages ranged from $6.43 a gallon in California to $4.52 in Mississippi. The high gas prices have been a key factor behind inflation being at a multidecade high.
Sheetz’s drop in gas prices will provide temporary relief to drivers, but they're waiting for more tangible, long-term solution. There's no easy way out, though. Gas prices and crude oil prices could stay high as is the Russia-Ukraine war escalates and we enter the summer driving season.
Natasha Kaneva, who heads commodity research at JPMorgan, believes average U.S. gas prices could rise to $6.20 per gallon by August. Meanwhile, Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, thinks that prices will peak at around $5.25.