US gasoline prices have drifted to multiyear lows amid ample inventories and softer demand, despite only a modest recovery in buying interest.
Benchmark US Gulf Coast unleaded gasoline (M grade) was priced at $1.8056/gal on December 8, down 4.60 cents from a day earlier, after dipping to a near two-year low of $1.7921/gal on December 4. The USGC CBOB 87 (A grade) also traded near five-year lows at $1.6741/gal on December 8, according to Platts, part of S&P Global Energy.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s latest data show USGC gasoline inventories rose by 3.75 million barrels for the week ended November 28 versus the prior year. Market participants note that blending activity has weakened in response to high inventories, with conventional octane rating system (RVP) costs and blendstock prices remaining unusually soft.
At New York Harbor, USAC benchmark barge and Buckeye Pipeline CBOB outright prices fell 3.60 cents to $1.8081/gal on December 8, hitting their lowest level since March 2021, according to Platts. Despite softer outright prices, total gasoline inventories on the U.S. Atlantic Coast are near seasonal lows, with EIA data showing stocks down about 5 million barrels year over year for the week ended November 28.
S&P Global Energy CERA analysts note in their November North America Short-term Outlook for Refined Products that PADD 1 gasoline imports have consistently stayed below five-year averages in 2025. They also expect further declines in Atlantic Coast imports as European gasoline demand grows and balances tighten in that region.
The downward move in outright gasoline prices coincides with a slide in the NYMEX RBOB futures market, which has been trending lower since mid-November. After peaking at $2.0116/gal on November 14, the front-month NYMEX RBOB contract had fallen about 21.35 cents/gal to settle at $1.7981/gal on December 8.
Demand, as proxied by total product supplied for gasoline, slipped 4.6% week-over-week to 8.33 million barrels per day for the week ended November 28. Implied demand was down 4.7% from a year earlier, marking the lowest Thanksgiving-week level since 2023.
Regionally, gasoline prices across the United States have followed a similar downtrend. In the Midwest, Group 3 sub-octane (V grade) gasoline traded at $1.5781/gal on December 8, down 5.35 cents from the previous day and the lowest since early February 2021. In the West, Los Angeles CARBOB gasoline fell to its lowest price since February 2021 at $1.7981/gal, down 3.60 cents.
California storage data from the California Energy Commission show CARBOB stocks rising by about 0.5 million barrels year over year for the week ending November 28, to 5.561 million barrels.
Overall, the market reflects a supply abundance relative to tepid demand, with pockets of weakness in blending and a broad softness in benchmark prices across regions. This dynamic raises questions about how quickly refiners will reduce output, how imports will respond to evolving European demand, and what price signals might emerge if demand strengthens later in the season.
